Bridging the gap: decision-making processes of women with breast cancer using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

PubMed

Balneaves, Lynda G; Truant, Tracy L O; Kelly, Mary; Verhoef, Marja J; Davison, B Joyce

2007-08-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the personal and social processes women with breast cancer engaged in when making decisions about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). The overall aim was to develop a conceptual model of the treatment decision-making process specific to breast cancer care and CAM that will inform future information and decision support strategies. Grounded theory methodology explored the decisions of women with breast cancer using CAM. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 women diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. Following open, axial, and selective coding, the constant comparative method was used to identify key themes in the data and develop a conceptual model of the CAM decision-making process. The final decision-making model, Bridging the Gap, was comprised of four core concepts including maximizing choices/minimizing risks, experiencing conflict, gathering and filtering information, and bridging the gap. Women with breast cancer used one of three decision-making styles to address the paradigmatic, informational, and role conflict they experienced as a result of the gap they perceived between conventional care and CAM: (1) taking it one step at a time, (2) playing it safe, and (3) bringing it all together. Women with breast cancer face conflict and anxiety when making decisions about CAM within a conventional cancer care context. Information and decision support strategies are needed to ensure women are making safe, informed treatment decisions about CAM. The model, Bridging the Gap, provides a conceptual framework for future decision support interventions.

A Conceptual Framework for Educational Design at Modular Level to Promote Transfer of Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Botma, Yvonne; Van Rensburg, G. H.; Coetzee, I. M.; Heyns, T.

2015-01-01

Students bridge the theory-practice gap when they apply in practice what they have learned in class. A conceptual framework was developed that can serve as foundation to design for learning transfer at modular level. The framework is based on an adopted and adapted systemic model of transfer of learning, existing learning theories, constructive…

The Rainbow Bridge Metaphor as a Tool for Developing Accessible E-Learning Practices in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seale, Jane K.

2006-01-01

This paper explores the extent to which existing accessibility metaphors can help to develop our conceptualizations of accessible e-­learning practice in higher education and outlines a proposal for a new rainbow bridge metaphor for accessible e­-learning practice. The need for a metaphor that reflects in more depth what we are beginning to…

Abstraction of the Relational Model from a Department of Veterans Affairs DHCP Database: Bridging Theory and Working Application

PubMed Central

Levy, C.; Beauchamp, C.

1996-01-01

This poster describes the methods used and working prototype that was developed from an abstraction of the relational model from the VA's hierarchical DHCP database. Overlaying the relational model on DHCP permits multiple user views of the physical data structure, enhances access to the database by providing a link to commercial (SQL based) software, and supports a conceptual managed care data model based on primary and longitudinal patient care. The goal of this work was to create a relational abstraction of the existing hierarchical database; to construct, using SQL data definition language, user views of the database which reflect the clinical conceptual view of DHCP, and to allow the user to work directly with the logical view of the data using GUI based commercial software of their choosing. The workstation is intended to serve as a platform from which a managed care information model could be implemented and evaluated.

Felt Moral Obligation and the Moral Judgement-Moral Action Gap: Toward a Phenomenology of Moral Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Richard N.; Gantt, Edwin E.

2012-01-01

The step-off point for this article is the problem of the "moral judgement-moral action gap" as found in contemporary literature of moral education and moral development. We argue that this gap, and the conceptual problems encountered by attempts to bridge it, reflects the effect of a different, deeper and more problematic conceptual gap: the…

Emerging perspectives in social neuroscience and neuroeconomics of aging

PubMed Central

Mather, Mara

2011-01-01

This article introduces the special issue of ‘Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience’ on Aging Research, and offers a broad conceptual and methodological framework for considering advances in life course research in social neuroscience and neuroeconomics. The authors highlight key areas of inquiry where aging research is raising new insights about how to conceptualize and examine critical questions about the links between cognition, emotion and motivation in social and economic behavior, as well as challenges that need to be addressed when taking a life course perspective in these fields. They also point to several emerging approaches that hold the potential for addressing these challenges, through bridging approaches from laboratory and population-based science, bridging inquiry across life stages and expanding measurement of core psychological phenotypes. PMID:21482573

The Promise of Community-Based Participatory Research for Health Equity: A Conceptual Model for Bridging Evidence With Policy

PubMed Central

Cacari-Stone, Lisa; Garcia, Analilia P.; Minkler, Meredith

2014-01-01

Insufficient attention has been paid to how research can be leveraged to promote health policy or how locality-based research strategies, in particular community-based participatory research (CBPR), influences health policy to eliminate racial and ethnic health inequities. To address this gap, we highlighted the efforts of 2 CBPR partnerships in California to explore how these initiatives made substantial contributions to policymaking for health equity. We presented a new conceptual model and 2 case studies to illustrate the connections among CBPR contexts and processes, policymaking processes and strategies, and outcomes. We extended the critical role of civic engagement by those communities that were most burdened by health inequities by focusing on their political participation as research brokers in bridging evidence and policymaking. PMID:25033119

A conceptual framework for the emerging discipline of conservation physiology

PubMed Central

Coristine, Laura E.; Robillard, Cassandra M.; Kerr, Jeremy T.; O'Connor, Constance M.; Lapointe, Dominique; Cooke, Steven J.

2014-01-01

Current rates of biodiversity decline are unprecedented and largely attributed to anthropogenic influences. Given the scope and magnitude of conservation issues, policy and management interventions must maximize efficiency and efficacy. The relatively new field of conservation physiology reveals the physiological mechanisms associated with population declines, animal–environment relationships and population or species tolerance thresholds, particularly where these relate to anthropogenic factors that necessitate conservation action. We propose a framework that demonstrates an integrative approach between physiology, conservation and policy, where each can inform the design, conduct and implementation of the other. Each junction of the conservation physiology process has the capacity to foster dialogue that contributes to effective implementation, monitoring, assessment and evaluation. This approach enables effective evaluation and implementation of evidence-based conservation policy and management decisions through a process of ongoing refinement, but may require that scientists (from the disciplines of both physiology and conservation) and policy-makers bridge interdisciplinary knowledge gaps. Here, we outline a conceptual framework that can guide and lead developments in conservation physiology, as well as promote innovative research that fosters conservation-motivated policy. PMID:27293654

A Longitudinal Study of Work After Retirement: Examining Predictors of Bridge Employment, Continued Career Employment, and Retirement.

PubMed

Bennett, Misty M; Beehr, Terry A; Lepisto, Lawrence R

2016-09-01

Older employees are increasingly accepting bridge employment, which occurs when older workers take employment for pay after they retire from their main career. This study examined predictors of workers' decisions to engage in bridge employment versus full retirement and career employment. A national sample of 482 older people in the United States was surveyed regarding various work-related and nonwork related predictors of retirement decisions, and their retirement status was measured 5 years later. In bivariate analyses, both work-related variables (career goal achievement and experienced pressure to retire) and nonwork-related variables (psychological distress and traditional gender role orientation) predicted taking bridge employment, but in multinomial logistic regression, only nonwork variables had unique effects. Few predictors differentiated the bridge employed and fully retired groups. Nonwork variables were salient in making the decision to retire, and bridge employment may be conceptually more similar to full retirement than to career employment. © The Author(s) 2016.

Reducing social inequities in health through settings-related interventions -- a conceptual framework.

PubMed

Shareck, Martine; Frohlich, Katherine L; Poland, Blake

2013-06-01

The creation of supportive environments for health is a basic action principle of health promotion, and equity is a core value. A settings approach offers an opportunity to bridge these two, with its focus on the interplay between individual, environmental and social determinants of health. We conducted a scoping review of the literature on theoretical bases and practical applications of the settings approach. Interventions targeting social inequities in health through action on various settings were analyzed to establish what is done in health equity research and action as it relates to settings. Four elements emerged as central to an equity-focused settings approach: a focus on social determinants of health, addressing the needs of marginalized groups, effecting change in a setting's structure, and involving stakeholders. Each came with related challenges. To offer potential solutions to these challenges we developed a conceptual framework that integrates theoretical and methodological approaches, along with six core guiding principles, into a 'settings praxis'. Reducing social inequities in health through the creation of supportive environments requires the application of the settings approach in an innovative way. The proposed conceptual framework can serve as a guide to do so, and help develop, implement and evaluate equity-focused settings-related interventions.

23 CFR 650.409 - Evaluation of bridge inventory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 23 Highways 1 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Evaluation of bridge inventory. 650.409 Section 650.409... BRIDGES, STRUCTURES, AND HYDRAULICS Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program § 650.409 Evaluation of bridge inventory. (a) Sufficiency rating of bridges. Upon receipt and evaluation of the bridge...

23 CFR 650.409 - Evaluation of bridge inventory.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 23 Highways 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Evaluation of bridge inventory. 650.409 Section 650.409... BRIDGES, STRUCTURES, AND HYDRAULICS Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program § 650.409 Evaluation of bridge inventory. (a) Sufficiency rating of bridges. Upon receipt and evaluation of the bridge...

Conceptual development of an impact-attenuation system for intersecting roadways.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-09-01

Longitudinal barriers are commonly used to shield hazards, including stiff bridge rail ends and slopes. In some locations, : a secondary roadway intersects the primary roadway within the guardrails length-of-need (LON). Some intersections may : ha...

A Decision Support System for Concrete Bridge Maintenance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rashidi, Maria; Lemass, Brett; Gibson, Peter

2010-05-01

The maintenance of bridges as a key element in transportation infrastructure has become a major concern for asset managers and society due to increasing traffic volumes, deterioration of existing bridges and well-publicised bridge failures. A pivotal responsibility for asset managers in charge of bridge remediation is to identify the risks and assess the consequences of remediation programs to ensure that the decisions are transparent and lead to the lowest predicted losses in recognized constraint areas. The ranking of bridge remediation treatments can be quantitatively assessed using a weighted constraint approach to structure the otherwise ill-structured phases of problem definition, conceptualization and embodiment [1]. This Decision Support System helps asset managers in making the best decision with regards to financial limitations and other dominant constraints imposed upon the problem at hand. The risk management framework in this paper deals with the development of a quantitative intelligent decision support system for bridge maintenance which has the ability to provide a source for consistent decisions through selecting appropriate remediation treatments based upon cost, service life, product durability/sustainability, client preferences, legal and environmental constraints. Model verification and validation through industry case studies is ongoing.

Controlled Blasting for Deconstruction of a Railway Bridge Near Sahibganj

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mandal, S. K.; Ghosh, A. K.; Oraon, S.

2018-06-01

Some of the Indian Railway bridges require reconstruction for electrification and expansion of railway tracks. Dismantling of bridge within time schedule in densely populated area requires controlled and pre-planned blasting methodology for safe pulling down of the structure and quick removal of blasted debris for fast restoration of tracks and smooth plying of trains. The three arched railway bridge (Bridge No. 61) located between Sahibganj and Karamtola cases one such example where the bridge was dismantled and the track was restored within 4 h of blasting, though the stipulated block period for demolition and restoration of tracks was 6 h. The 25.48 m long three-arched bridge was drilled and blasted with 225 number of blastholes (32 mm diameter) and 100 kg explosive (25 mm diameter). Length of blastholes varied between 0.5 and 1.8 m with blast geometry of 0.3-0.35 m burden and 0.33 m spacing. This paper deals with the conceptual and theoretical model developed for identification of the key locations for drilling and implementation of the same. It also discusses about the precautionary measures and the drilling pattern adopted for quick demolition and speedy restoration of tracks.

Controlled Blasting for Deconstruction of a Railway Bridge Near Sahibganj

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mandal, S. K.; Ghosh, A. K.; Oraon, S.

2018-02-01

Some of the Indian Railway bridges require reconstruction for electrification and expansion of railway tracks. Dismantling of bridge within time schedule in densely populated area requires controlled and pre-planned blasting methodology for safe pulling down of the structure and quick removal of blasted debris for fast restoration of tracks and smooth plying of trains. The three arched railway bridge (Bridge No. 61) located between Sahibganj and Karamtola cases one such example where the bridge was dismantled and the track was restored within 4 h of blasting, though the stipulated block period for demolition and restoration of tracks was 6 h. The 25.48 m long three-arched bridge was drilled and blasted with 225 number of blastholes (32 mm diameter) and 100 kg explosive (25 mm diameter). Length of blastholes varied between 0.5 and 1.8 m with blast geometry of 0.3-0.35 m burden and 0.33 m spacing. This paper deals with the conceptual and theoretical model developed for identification of the key locations for drilling and implementation of the same. It also discusses about the precautionary measures and the drilling pattern adopted for quick demolition and speedy restoration of tracks.

Bridging the Gap between Social Acceptance and Ethical Acceptability.

PubMed

Taebi, Behnam

2017-10-01

New technology brings great benefits, but it can also create new and significant risks. When evaluating those risks in policymaking, there is a tendency to focus on social acceptance. By solely focusing on social acceptance, we could, however, overlook important ethical aspects of technological risk, particularly when we evaluate technologies with transnational and intergenerational risks. I argue that good governance of risky technology requires analyzing both social acceptance and ethical acceptability. Conceptually, these two notions are mostly complementary. Social acceptance studies are not capable of sufficiently capturing all the morally relevant features of risky technologies; ethical analyses do not typically include stakeholders' opinions, and they therefore lack the relevant empirical input for a thorough ethical evaluation. Only when carried out in conjunction are these two types of analysis relevant to national and international governance of risky technology. I discuss the Rawlsian wide reflective equilibrium as a method for marrying social acceptance and ethical acceptability. Although the rationale of my argument is broadly applicable, I will examine the case of multinational nuclear waste repositories in particular. This example will show how ethical issues may be overlooked if we focus only on social acceptance, and will provide a test case for demonstrating how the wide reflective equilibrium can help to bridge the proverbial acceptance-acceptability gap. © 2016 The Authors Risk Analysis published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Risk Analysis.

Conceptualizing 20 years of engaged scholarship: A scoping review.

PubMed

Beaulieu, Marianne; Breton, Mylaine; Brousselle, Astrid

2018-01-01

Engaged scholarship, a movement that has been growing steadily since 1995, offers a new way of bridging gaps between the university and civil society. Numerous papers and reports have been published since Boyer's foundational discourse in 1996. Yet, beyond a growing interest in orienting universities' missions, we observed a lack a formal definition and conceptualization of this movement. Based on a scoping review of the literature over the past 20 years, the objective of this article is to propose a conceptualization of engaged scholarship. More specifically, we define its values, principles, and processes. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this new posture for faculty and students, as well as for the university as an institution.

Ecological subsidies: a conceptual framework for integrating ecosystem and exposure studies in linked aquatic-terrestrial systems

EPA Science Inventory

Ecology and ecotoxicology share common goals - tracing and quantifying material flux in the environment. Bridging these disciplines is challenging because their practitioners have slightly different methods, terminologies and objectives. For example, ecologists strive to identify...

Salt-bridge networks within globular and disordered proteins: characterizing trends for designable interactions.

PubMed

Basu, Sankar; Mukharjee, Debasish

2017-07-01

There has been considerable debate about the contribution of salt bridges to the stabilization of protein folds, in spite of their participation in crucial protein functions. Salt bridges appear to contribute to the activity-stability trade-off within proteins by bringing high-entropy charged amino acids into close contacts during the course of their functions. The current study analyzes the modes of association of salt bridges (in terms of networks) within globular proteins and at protein-protein interfaces. While the most common and trivial type of salt bridge is the isolated salt bridge, bifurcated salt bridge appears to be a distinct salt-bridge motif having a special topology and geometry. Bifurcated salt bridges are found ubiquitously in proteins and interprotein complexes. Interesting and attractive examples presenting different modes of interaction are highlighted. Bifurcated salt bridges appear to function as molecular clips that are used to stitch together large surface contours at interacting protein interfaces. The present work also emphasizes the key role of salt-bridge-mediated interactions in the partial folding of proteins containing long stretches of disordered regions. Salt-bridge-mediated interactions seem to be pivotal to the promotion of "disorder-to-order" transitions in small disordered protein fragments and their stabilization upon binding. The results obtained in this work should help to guide efforts to elucidate the modus operandi of these partially disordered proteins, and to conceptualize how these proteins manage to maintain the required amount of disorder even in their bound forms. This work could also potentially facilitate explorations of geometrically specific designable salt bridges through the characterization of composite salt-bridge networks. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Building bridges between the physical and biological sciences.

PubMed

Ninham, B W; Boström, M

2005-12-16

This paper attempts to identify major conceptual issues that have inhibited the application of physical chemistry to problems in the biological sciences. We will trace out where theories went wrong, how to repair the present foundations, and discuss current progress toward building a better dialogue.

Interoperability in Personalized Adaptive Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aroyo, Lora; Dolog, Peter; Houben, Geert-Jan; Kravcik, Milos; Naeve, Ambjorn; Nilsson, Mikael; Wild, Fridolin

2006-01-01

Personalized adaptive learning requires semantic-based and context-aware systems to manage the Web knowledge efficiently as well as to achieve semantic interoperability between heterogeneous information resources and services. The technological and conceptual differences can be bridged either by means of standards or via approaches based on the…

Manufacturing Curriculum Grant. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scarborough, Jule Dee

A manufacturing curriculum for secondary vocational programs was designed to bridge the gap between grades 9-10 level courses and the community college-level curriculum of the Illinois Plan for Industrial Education. During the project, a literature review of manufacturing curriculum materials was conducted, a manufacturing conceptual framework was…

Justice at Work, Job Stress, and Employee Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fujishiro, Kaori; Heaney, Catherine A.

2009-01-01

A small but growing literature has documented an association between justice at work and employee health. However, the pathways and mechanisms underlying this association are not well understood. This article proposes a conceptual framework that bridges the organizational justice, occupational stress, and occupational epidemiology literatures.…

Conceptualizing 20 years of engaged scholarship: A scoping review

PubMed Central

Beaulieu, Marianne; Breton, Mylaine

2018-01-01

Engaged scholarship, a movement that has been growing steadily since 1995, offers a new way of bridging gaps between the university and civil society. Numerous papers and reports have been published since Boyer’s foundational discourse in 1996. Yet, beyond a growing interest in orienting universities’ missions, we observed a lack a formal definition and conceptualization of this movement. Based on a scoping review of the literature over the past 20 years, the objective of this article is to propose a conceptualization of engaged scholarship. More specifically, we define its values, principles, and processes. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of this new posture for faculty and students, as well as for the university as an institution. PMID:29489870

Classical and Modern Design Solutions in Conceptual Design of a Pedestrian Bridge over Vistula River in Cracow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryż, Karol; Pańtak, Marek

2017-10-01

In the paper the design concept of the steel pedestrian bridge over Vistula river in Cracow, Poland has been characterised. The footbridge was designed as a truss structure with steel pipes, Warren truss configuration, arched bottom chord and spans 15.5+120.0+15.5 m. Intensive tourist traffic around the Wawel Castle in Cracow, directed towards the historic Kazimierz district, Wawel Hill and the Old Town Market Place requires the creation of a bridge structure over the Vistula River that will meet both the communication and recreation functions. An additional aim was to design a structure which architectural form will not unduly and negatively interfere in the environment and will join the technical capabilities of the XXI century with the charm of nearby historic buildings.

Smart photonic coating for civil engineering field: for a future inspection technology on concrete bridge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fudouzi, Hiroshi; Tsuchiya, Koichi; Todoroki, Shin-ichi; Hyakutake, Tsuyoshi; Nitta, Hiroyuki; Nishizaki, Itaru; Tanaka, Yoshikazu; Ohya, Takao

2017-04-01

Here we will propose the conceptual new idea of the inspection of concrete bridge using smart materials and mobile IoT system. We apply opal photonic crystal film to detect cracks on concrete infrastructures. High quality opal photonic crystal films were coated on black color PET sheet over 1000 cm2 area. The opal film sheet was cut and adhered to concrete or mortar test pieces by epoxy resin. In the tensile test, the structural color of the opal sheet was changed when the crack was formed. As a demonstration, we have installated the opal film sheet on the wall of the concrete bridge. Our final purpose is the color change will be recorded by portable CCD devices, and send to expert via IoT network.

Interaction Behavior between Thrust Faulting and the National Highway No. 3 - Tianliao III bridge as Determined using Numerical Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, C. H.; Wu, L. C.; Chan, P. C.; Lin, M. L.

2016-12-01

The National Highway No. 3 - Tianliao III Bridge is located in the southwestern Taiwan mudstone area and crosses the Chekualin fault. Since the bridge was opened to traffic, it has been repaired 11 times. To understand the interaction behavior between thrust faulting and the bridge, a discrete element method-based software program, PFC, was applied to conduct a numerical analysis. A 3D model for simulating the thrust faulting and bridge was established, as shown in Fig. 1. In this conceptual model, the length and width were 50 and 10 m, respectively. Part of the box bottom was moveable, simulating the displacement of the thrust fault. The overburden stratum had a height of 5 m with fault dip angles of 20° (Fig. 2). The bottom-up strata were mudstone, clay, and sand, separately. The uplift was 1 m, which was 20% of the stratum thickness. In accordance with the investigation, the position of the fault tip was set, depending on the fault zone, and the bridge deformation was observed (Fig. 3). By setting "Monitoring Balls" in the numerical model to analyzes bridge displacement, we determined that the bridge deck deflection increased as the uplift distance increased. Furthermore, the force caused by the loading of the bridge deck and fault dislocation was determined to cause a down deflection of the P1 and P2 bridge piers. Finally, the fault deflection trajectory of the P4 pier displayed the maximum displacement (Fig. 4). Similar behavior has been observed through numerical simulation as well as field monitoring data. Usage of the discrete element model (PFC3D) to simulate the deformation behavior between thrust faulting and the bridge provided feedback for the design and improved planning of the bridge.

Delivering "Virtual Ethnicity" Drama: A Pedagogical Design for Bridging Digital and Diversity Barriers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, E. Vincent

2015-01-01

This study examines an original dramaturgical method for creating virtual world experience called virtual world drama. The instructional focus is improving students' aptitude for analyzing ethnic identity by instilling both conceptual and multicultural competency. An exploratory research method is used, relying on observation (disguised and…

Postcolonial Perspectives on Global Citizenship Education. Routledge Research in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Oliveira Andreotti, Vanessa, Ed.; de Souza, Lynn Mario T. M., Ed.

2011-01-01

This volume bridges the gap between contemporary theoretical debates and educational policies and practices. It applies postcolonial theory as a framework of analysis that attempts to engage with and go beyond essentialism, ethno- and euro-centrisms through a critical examination of contemporary case studies and conceptual issues. From a…

Bridging: A Teacher's Guide to Metaphorical Thinking.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pugh, Sharon L.; And Others

This book provides material and ideas for bringing metaphorical thinking into the classroom in the context of language discussions. It is organized to link the conceptual with the concrete, integrating teaching ideas with discussions concerning the various roles that metaphorical thinking plays in human understanding and communications. The book's…

ADVICE--Educational System for Teaching Database Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cvetanovic, M.; Radivojevic, Z.; Blagojevic, V.; Bojovic, M.

2011-01-01

This paper presents a Web-based educational system, ADVICE, that helps students to bridge the gap between database management system (DBMS) theory and practice. The usage of ADVICE is presented through a set of laboratory exercises developed to teach students conceptual and logical modeling, SQL, formal query languages, and normalization. While…

Places for Pedagogies, Pedagogies for Places

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duhn, Iris

2012-01-01

Working with an understanding of assemblage as the ad hoc groupings of vibrant materials and elements, this article argues that conceptualizing place as an assemblage opens possibilities for bridging the gap between subjects and objects that continue to structure pedagogy. Considering "place" as an assemblage of humans and their multiple…

Bridging Theory and Practice: A Conceptual Framework for Consulting Organisations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohammed, Meca B.; Welch, Jennie; Hazle Bussey, Leslie

2015-01-01

A growing number of organisations are emerging as partners to districts pursuing systemic improvement. Given the critical role a consulting organisation could play in supporting system reform efforts, how does a district leader looking to establish a consulting partnership determine what characteristics in a consulting organisation may be more…

The Definitive Newsletter.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adler, Ralph

The newsletter, a publication printed on a regular basis that has a clearly defined, intriguing, and thoughtful content purpose for serving a specific audience, usually acts as a conceptual bridge between an organization and that group. A newsletter begun without good planning and without a clearly defined purpose, however, could end up being…

Reconceptualizing the School of Education: Bridging the Cultures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Twale, Darla J.; Place, A. William

2005-01-01

This article offers a conceptual model for a school of education that depicts the collegiate ideology, academic culture, mission statement, managerial climate, and organizational structure. It is designed to help administrators and faculty envision their school/college more holistically when dealing with issues and changes rather than forcing…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

DeRosa, C.T.; Choudhury, H.; Schoeny, R.S.

Risk assessment can be thought of as a conceptual approach to bridge the gap between the available data and the ultimate goal of characterizing the risk or hazard associated with a particular environmental problem. To lend consistency to and to promote quality in the process, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published Guidelines for Risk Assessment of Carcinogenicity, Developmental Toxicity, Germ Cell Mutagenicity and Exposure Assessment, and Risk Assessment of Chemical Mixtures. The guidelines provide a framework for organizing the information, evaluating data, and for carrying out the risk assessment in a scientifically plausible manner. In the absence of sufficientmore » scientific information or when abundant data are available, the guidelines provide alternative methodologies that can be employed in the risk assessment. 4 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.« less

Visual analytics as a translational cognitive science.

PubMed

Fisher, Brian; Green, Tera Marie; Arias-Hernández, Richard

2011-07-01

Visual analytics is a new interdisciplinary field of study that calls for a more structured scientific approach to understanding the effects of interaction with complex graphical displays on human cognitive processes. Its primary goal is to support the design and evaluation of graphical information systems that better support cognitive processes in areas as diverse as scientific research and emergency management. The methodologies that make up this new field are as yet ill defined. This paper proposes a pathway for development of visual analytics as a translational cognitive science that bridges fundamental research in human/computer cognitive systems and design and evaluation of information systems in situ. Achieving this goal will require the development of enhanced field methods for conceptual decomposition of human/computer cognitive systems that maps onto laboratory studies, and improved methods for conducting laboratory investigations that might better map onto real-world cognitive processes in technology-rich environments. Copyright © 2011 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Quantum Algorithms for Scientific Computing and Approximate Optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hadfield, Stuart Andrew

Diversity and inclusion has been a concern for the physics community for nearly 50 years. Despite significant efforts including the American Physical Society (APS) Conferences for Undergraduate Women in Physics (CUWiP) and the APS Bridge Program, women, African Americans, and Hispanics continue to be substantially underrepresented in the physics profession. Similar efforts within the field of engineering, whose students make up the majority of students in the introductory calculus-based physics courses, have also met with limited success. With the introduction of research-based instruments such as the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE), and the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism (CSEM), differences in performance by gender began to be reported. Researchers have yet to come to an agreement as to why these "gender gaps" exist in the conceptual inventories that are widely used in physics education research and/or how to reduce the gaps. The "gender gap" has been extensively studied; on average, for the mechanics conceptual inventories, male students outperform female students by 13% on the pretest and by 12% post instruction. While much of the gender gap research has been geared toward the mechanics conceptual inventories, there have been few studies exploring the gender gap in the electricity and magnetism conceptual inventories. Overall, male students outperform female students by 3.7% on the pretest and 8.5% on the post-test; however, these studies have much more variation including one study showing female students outperforming male students on the CSEM. Many factors have been proposed that may influence the gender gap, from differences in background and preparation to various psychological and sociocultural effects. A parallel but largely disconnected set of research has identified gender biased questions within the FCI. This research has produced sporadic results and has only been performed on the FCI. The work performed in this manuscript will seek to synthesize these strands and use large datasets and deep demographic data to understand the persistent differences in male and female performance.

Preliminary seismic evaluation and ranking of bridges along I-24 in Western Kentucky.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-09-01

This study represents one of the Seismic Evaluation of I-24 Bridges investigative series. The focus is on preliminary seismic evaluation and ranking of bridges according to their seismic vulnerability. Bridges along I-24 are considered in this invest...

Seismic evaluation of the Tennessee River Bridges on Interstate 24 in Western Kentucky.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-09-01

This report presents the seismic evaluation of the approaches and parallel bridges on I-24 crossing the Tennessee River between Marshall and Livingston counties in Western Kentucky. The main bridges are steel tied-arch bridges. The bridges are situat...

33 CFR 116.30 - Administrator, Bridge Administration Program Review and Evaluation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Administrator, Bridge..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BRIDGES ALTERATION OF UNREASONABLY OBSTRUCTIVE BRIDGES § 116.30 Administrator, Bridge Administration Program Review and Evaluation. (a) Upon receiving a Detailed Investigation Report...

Teaching the Working Alliance: Bridging the Gap between Counseling Microskills and Establishing Meaningful and Productive Relationships

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Connor, Annemarie; Leahy, Michael J.

2016-01-01

Purpose: This article conceptualizes teaching alliance as a framework to guide educators in teaching the affective components of working alliance (WA) through enhanced student-teacher relationships and augmented curricular focus on therapeutic bonds. Method: Drawing on the extant literature, and integrating counseling and educational theory, this…

A Different Kind of Diversity: Collaboration across Content Areas Intensifies Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goble, Ryan R.; Sousanis, Nick

2010-01-01

The discovery of DNA is a classic example of the importance of working across content areas. Conceptually, interdisciplinarity can be fuzzy. Thankfully, scholars like Allen Repko and Julie Thompson Klein offer definitions one can build on. Klein (1990) sees interdisciplinarity as a bridge that links different disciplines while restructuring and…

The Summer Flood: The Invisible Gap among Low-Income Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Arnold, Karen; Fleming, Shezwae; DeAnda, Mario; Castleman, Benjamin; Wartman, Katherine Lynk

2009-01-01

Despite national calls to conceptualize education as a continuous P-16 system, most high schools cease to serve their students at the point of graduation. For their part, colleges provide relatively few students with formal bridge programs during the summer transition between secondary and postsecondary education. Even among low-income students…

Moore and Less!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Asghari, Amir

2012-01-01

This article is the story of a very non-standard, absolutely student-centered multivariable calculus course. The course advocates the so-called problem method in which the problems used are a bridge between what the learners know and what they are about to know. The main feature of the course is a unique conceptual story that runs through the…

Structural Analysis of Competitive Forces in Higher Education Industry: A Conceptual Framework.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sisaye, Seleshi

This report describes how colleges and universities in the Not-for-Profit sector can bridge the strategic management research gap by applying competitive analysis in the strategic planning process. This business analysis tool can be used to assist colleges and universities, just as it assists businesses, in understanding the competitive forces…

An integrated conceptual framework for long-term social-ecological research

Treesearch

S.L. Collins; S.R. Carpenter; S.M. Swinton; D.E. Orenstein; D.L. Childers; T.L. Gragson; N.B. Grimm; J.M. Grove; S.L. Harlan; J.P. Kaye; A.K. Knapp; G.P. Kofinas; J.J. Magnuson; W.H. McDowell; J.M. Melack; L.A. Ogden; G.P. Robertson; M.D. Smith; A.C. Whitmer

2010-01-01

The global reach of human activities affects all natural ecosystems, so that the environment is best viewed as a social-ecological system. Consequently, a more integrative approach to environmental science, one that bridges the biophysical and social domains, is sorely needed. Although models and frameworks for social-ecological systems exist, few are explicitly...

Faith Fictions: "The Word between This World and God"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Le Tran, Mai-Anh

2009-01-01

The search for religious truth and depth in "fiction" invites a conceptualization of life and fictional narratives as "faith fictions"--narrative accounts of human experiences and the human condition that bridge this world and God. This article juxtaposes "Mother Crocodile", "Hunger", and "Lost in Translation" to highlight the ways in which they,…

Teacher Research on Funds of Knowledge: Learning from Households. Educational Practice Report: 6.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gonzalez, Norma; And Others

The conceptualization of working-class Latino students' households as being rich in funds of knowledge has engendered transformative consequences for teachers, parents, students, and researchers. The qualitative study of their own students' households by teachers is a viable method for bridging the gap between school and community. An assumption…

Preparing Medical Graduates for an Interconnected World: Current Practices and Future Possibilities for Internationalizing the Medical Curriculum in Different Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stütz, Alexander; Green, Wendy; McAllister, Lindy; Eley, Diann

2015-01-01

Preparing medical graduates who are competent to work in a global environment requires broad integration of international and intercultural perspectives throughout the medical curriculum. Employing Leask and Bridge's "conceptual framework of internationalisation of the curriculum," this article first highlights the emphasis placed on…

Conceptual Framework for Parametrically Measuring the Desirability of Open Educational Resources Using D-Index

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abeywardena, Ishan Sudeera; Tham, Choy Yoong; Raviraja, S.

2012-01-01

Open educational resources (OER) are a global phenomenon that is fast gaining credibility in many academic circles as a possible solution for bridging the knowledge divide. With increased funding and advocacy from governmental and nongovernmental organisations paired with generous philanthropy, many OER repositories, which host a vast array of…

To MBA or Not to MBA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baruch, Yehuda

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to critically reflect on the value of the MBA--a Master in Business Administration, considered the flagship of business and management education. The author aims to bridge the gap in the understanding of the possible added value of the MBA. Design/methodology/approach: This conceptual paper is enriched by…

Bridging Literacy Acquisition and Self-Regulated Learning: Using a SRL Framework to Support Struggling Readers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holtzheuser, Sierra; McNamara, John

2014-01-01

Reading is conceptualized as a hierarchy of component skills where lower order emergent literacy skills set the foundation for higher order reading skills such as fluency and comprehension. Approximately 20% of readers struggle within this hierarchical process (Fielding, Kerr, & Rosier, 2007). Struggling readers are susceptible to the Matthew…

The Process of "Reflexion" in Bridging "Testimonios" across Lived Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Espino, Michelle M.; Vega, Irene I.; Rendon, Laura I.; Ranero, Jessica J.; Muniz, Marcela M.

2012-01-01

From Latinas' locations in the margins of academe and society emerges a unique set of challenges complicated by racism, sexism, and classism. One form of resistance to these multiple marginalities involves drawing upon and (re)telling one's lived experience to expose oppression and systemic violence. "Testimonio" is a conceptual and methodological…

Trust and School Life: The Role of Trust for Learning, Teaching, Leading, and Bridging

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Van Maele, Dimitri, Ed.; Forsyth, Patrick B., Ed.; Van Houtte, Miek, Ed.

2014-01-01

This book samples recent and emerging trust research in education including an array of conceptual approaches, measurement innovations, and explored determinants and outcomes of trust. The collection of pathways explores the phenomenon of trust and establishes the significance of trust relationships in school life. It emboldens the claim that…

Models of Sexual and Relational Orientation: A Critical Review and Synthesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moe, Jeffry L.; Reicherzer, Stacee; Dupuy, Paula J.

2011-01-01

Many frameworks exist to explain and describe the phenomenon of same-sex sexuality as it applies to human development. This conceptual article provides a critical overview and synthesis of previous models to serve as a theoretical bridge for the suggested multiple continua model of sexual and relational orientations. Recommendations for how…

The Origins of Force--Misconceptions and Classroom Controversy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Steinberg, Melvin S.

Misconceptions associated with the origins of force and the effectiveness of a bridging strategy for developing correct conceptual models in mechanics are identified for high school physics teachers in this paper. The situation investigated was whether a table exerts an upward force on a book. Student misconceptions related to this phenomenon as…

First-time viewers' comprehension of films: bridging shot transitions.

PubMed

Ildirar, Sermin; Schwan, Stephan

2015-02-01

Which perceptual and cognitive prerequisites must be met in order to be able to comprehend a film is still unresolved and a controversial issue. In order to gain some insights into this issue, our field experiment investigates how first-time adult viewers extract and integrate meaningful information across film cuts. Three major types of commonalities between adjacent shots were differentiated, which may help first-time viewers with bridging the shots: pictorial, causal, and conceptual. Twenty first-time, 20 low-experienced and 20 high-experienced viewers from Turkey were shown a set of short film clips containing these three kinds of commonalities. Film clips conformed also to the principles of continuity editing. Analyses of viewers' spontaneous interpretations show that first-time viewers indeed are able to notice basic pictorial (object identity), causal (chains of activity), as well as conceptual (links between gaze direction and object attention) commonalities between shots due to their close relationship with everyday perception and cognition. However, first-time viewers' comprehension of the commonalities is to a large degree fragile, indicating the lack of a basic notion of what constitutes a film. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

33 CFR 116.30 - Administrator, Office of Bridge Programs Review and Evaluation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Administrator, Office of Bridge..., DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BRIDGES ALTERATION OF UNREASONABLY OBSTRUCTIVE BRIDGES § 116.30 Administrator, Office of Bridge Programs Review and Evaluation. (a) Upon receiving a Detailed Investigation Report from...

Bridge deck fogging system : evaluation of field implementation of a fogging system used during bridge deck construction.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-01-01

The objective of this research was to implement and evaluate a fogging system used to provide initial cure for a concrete bridge deck construction project. To accomplish this, Bridges 5500 and 5701 along NM26 were selected. Bridge 5500 was placed usi...

Conceptualizing Telehealth in Nursing Practice: Advancing a Conceptual Model to Fill a Virtual Gap.

PubMed

Nagel, Daniel A; Penner, Jamie L

2016-03-01

Increasingly nurses use various telehealth technologies to deliver health care services; however, there has been a lag in research and generation of empirical knowledge to support nursing practice in this expanding field. One challenge to generating knowledge is a gap in development of a comprehensive conceptual model or theoretical framework to illustrate relationships of concepts and phenomena inherent to adoption of a broad range of telehealth technologies to holistic nursing practice. A review of the literature revealed eight published conceptual models, theoretical frameworks, or similar entities applicable to nursing practice. Many of these models focus exclusively on use of telephones and four were generated from qualitative studies, but none comprehensively reflect complexities of bridging nursing process and elements of nursing practice into use of telehealth. The purpose of this article is to present a review of existing conceptual models and frameworks, discuss predominant themes and features of these models, and present a comprehensive conceptual model for telehealth nursing practice synthesized from this literature for consideration and further development. This conceptual model illustrates characteristics of, and relationships between, dimensions of telehealth practice to guide research and knowledge development in provision of holistic person-centered care delivery to individuals by nurses through telehealth technologies. © The Author(s) 2015.

Outcome-centered antiepileptic therapy: Rate, rhythm and relief.: Implementing AAN Epilepsy Quality Measures in clinical practice.

PubMed

D'Cruz, O'Neill

2015-12-01

Clinicians who manage patients with epilepsy are expected to assess the relevance of clinical trial results to their practice, integrate new treatments into the care algorithm, and implement epilepsy quality measures, with the overall goal of improving patient outcomes. A disease-based clinical framework that helps with choice and combinations of interventions facilitates provision of efficient, cost-effective, and high-quality care. This article addresses the current conceptual framework that informs clinical evaluation of epilepsy, explores gaps between development of treatment options, quality measures and clinical goals, and proposes an outcome-centered approach that bridges these gaps with the aim of improving patient and population-level clinical outcomes in epilepsy. Copyright © 2015 The Author. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conceptual Coordination Bridges Information Processing and Neurophysiology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clancey, William J.; Norrig, Peter (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Information processing theories of memory and skills can be reformulated in terms of how categories are physically and temporally related, a process called conceptual coordination. Dreaming can then be understood as a story understanding process in which two mechanisms found in everyday comprehension are missing: conceiving sequences (chunking categories in time as a categorization) and coordinating across modalities (e.g., relating the sound of a word and the image of its meaning). On this basis, we can readily identify isomorphisms between dream phenomenology and neurophysiology, and explain the function of dreaming as facilitating future coordination of sequential, cross-modal categorization (i.e., REM sleep lowers activation thresholds, "unlearning").

Breaking Down Barriers and Building Bridges: Transformative Practices in Community- and School-Based Urban Teacher Preparation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Robert E.

2018-01-01

Attracting and retaining high-quality teachers is especially challenging in urban districts. It is in these communities where teacher candidates must begin their preparation. This article provides a conceptual framework and programmatic examples used to develop a community-based urban teacher preparation model within a third hybrid space where…

Model-Eliciting Activities (MEAs) as a Bridge between Engineering Education Research and Mathematics Education Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, Eric; Lesh, Richard; Lester, Frank; Brilleslyper, Michael

2008-01-01

This article introduces Model-Eliciting Activities (MEAs) as a form of case study team problem-solving. MEA design focuses on eliciting from students conceptual models that they iteratively revise in problem-solving. Though developed by mathematics education researchers to study the evolution of mathematical problem-solving expertise in middle…

How Can Magnetic Forces Do Work? Investigating the Problem with Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Onorato, Pasquale; De Ambrosis, Anna

2013-01-01

We present a sequence of activities aimed at promoting both learning about magnetic forces and students' reflection about the conceptual bridge between magnetic forces on a moving charge and on a current-carrying wire in a magnetic field. The activity sequence, designed for students in high school or on introductory physics courses, has been…

Working with the Divides: Two Critical Axes in Development for Transformative Professional Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Avery, Helen; Nordén, Birgitta

2017-01-01

Purpose: The paper aims to provide a conceptual map of how to mediate between sustainability theory and practice in higher education and how disciplinary divides can be bridged. It further looks at issues linked to knowledge views and drivers for institutional change that affect opportunities for whole institution development promoting action…

Transfer of Life Skills in Sport-Based Youth Development Programs: A Conceptual Framework Bridging Learning to Application

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, Jennifer M.; Wright, Paul M.

2018-01-01

Research has demonstrated that many quality sport-based youth development programs promote life skill acquisition (e.g., leadership, self-control) with the ultimate goal of facilitating positive outcomes in youth participants' social and academic environments. Researchers call this "transfer of life skills" (i.e., the idea that physical,…

"Homo Pontem": Teachers as Bridges to a Multicultural Italy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kowalczyk, Jamie A.

2016-01-01

This article explores the appearance of new teacher roles within the Italian education discourse, in particular focusing on official and scholarly texts from 1990 to 2015. During the second half of this period, the conceptual borders of two distinct roles, the intercultural teacher and the cultural mediator, begin to blur so that all teachers are…

Bridging the Conceptual Gap between Free Fall and Drag-Dominated Regimes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Obaldia, Elida; Miller, Norma; Wittel, Fred; Jaimison, George; Wallis, Kendra

2016-01-01

Some misconceptions about physics are hard to change. For example, students continue to believe that heavier objects fall faster than light ones, even after a year of physics instruction. Physics misconceptions are persistent. Light objects do fall more slowly if their size-to-weight ratio is sufficient for drag to be appreciable. Motion through a…

Leadership for Social Justice: Promoting Equity and Excellence through Inquiry and Reflective Practice. Educational Leadership for Social Justice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Normore, Anthony H., Ed.

2008-01-01

Within this book Leadership for Social Justice: Promoting Equity and Excellence Through Inquiry and Reflective Practice the contributors provide a variety of rich perspectives to the social justice phenomenon from the lens of empirical, historical, narrative, and conceptual designs. These designs reiterate the importance of bridging theory and…

Monetary Reward and Teachers' Performance in Selected Public Secondary Schools in Kano State

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bello, Garba Bala; Jakada, Muhammad Bello

2017-01-01

This is a conceptual study that intends to examine the relationship between monetary reward and teachers' performance in some selected Kano State public secondary schools. Secondary schools are the bridge between primary education and higher institutions in Nigeria. The need for students to acquire more knowledge and skills beyond primary level in…

How We Live Now: "I Don't Think There's Such a Thing as Being Offline"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carrington, Victoria

2017-01-01

Background/Context: Distinctions, real and conceptual, in being "online" or "offline" have featured heavily in the ways educational researchers have understood and approached research into the lives and practices of young people. Even as we argued that bridges must be built between "on" and "off," our…

Spoken Language Processing Model: Bridging Auditory and Language Processing to Guide Assessment and Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Medwetsky, Larry

2011-01-01

Purpose: This article outlines the author's conceptualization of the key mechanisms that are engaged in the processing of spoken language, referred to as the spoken language processing model. The act of processing what is heard is very complex and involves the successful intertwining of auditory, cognitive, and language mechanisms. Spoken language…

Evidence-Based Practices: Applications of Concrete Representational Abstract Framework across Math Concepts for Students with Mathematics Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agrawal, Jugnu; Morin, Lisa L.

2016-01-01

Students with mathematics disabilities (MD) experience difficulties with both conceptual and procedural knowledge of different math concepts across grade levels. Research shows that concrete representational abstract framework of instruction helps to bridge this gap for students with MD. In this article, we provide an overview of this strategy…

Bridging Theory: Where Cultures Meet in Self and Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jensen, Lene Arnett

2012-01-01

In this chapter, I argue that Dialogical Self Theory (DST) represents a compelling answer to how to conceptualize the psychology of the self in today's world, when people increasingly are aware of more than one way to think, feel, and relate to others. DST envisions a self of plural voices. The chapters in this volume show intriguing applications…

Evaluation of design methods to determine scour depths for bridge structures.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-03-01

Scour of bridge foundations is the most common cause of bridge failures. The overall goal of this project was to evaluate the applicability of the existing Hydraulic Engineering Circular (HEC-18) documents method to Louisiana bridges that are mostly ...

Evaluation of a highway bridge constructed using high strength lightweight concrete bridge girders.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-04-01

The purpose of this research was to characterize the performance of High Strength Lightweight Concrete (HSLW) in precast, prestressed bridge girders and to evaluate their performance in a highway bridge. The mechanical properties and long-term time-d...

Evaluation of a Concrete Continuous Beam Bridge Using Load Test

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiedong; Li, Hong; Li, Xiaofan; Xiang, Musheng; Shen, Chengwu

2007-03-01

Load test is an efficient way to evaluate highway bridges. This paper presents static and dynamic load tests on a prestressed concrete continuous beam bridge. We obtained the influence line and the vibration property of the bridge from FEM analysis. The stress, deformation and the vibration characteristics of the bridge were measured. We found that the measured data are consistent with those from the theoretical calculation, indicating good condition of the bridge.

Toughening by crack bridging in heterogeneous ceramics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Curtin, W.A.

1995-05-01

The toughening of a ceramic by crack bridging is considered, including the heterogeneity caused simply by spatial randomness in the bridge locations. The growth of a single planar crack is investigated numerically by representing the microstructure as an array of discrete springs with heterogeneity in the mechanical properties of each spring. The stresses on each microstructural element are determined, for arbitrary configurations of spring properties and heterogeneity, using a lattice Green function technique. For toughening by (heterogeneous) crack bridging for both elastic and Dugdale bridging mechanisms, the following key physical results are found: (1) growing cracks avoid regions which aremore » efficiently bridged, and do not propagate as self-similar penny cracks; (2) crack growth thus proceeds at lower applied stresses in a heterogeneous material than in an ordered material; (3) very little toughening is evident for moderate amounts of crack growth in many cases; and (4) a different R-curve is found for every particular spatial distribution of bridging elements. These results show that material reliability is determined by both the flaw distribution and the ``toughness`` distribution, or local environment, around each flaw. These results also demonstrate that the ``microstructural`` parameters derived from fitting an R-curve to a continuum model may not have an immediate relationship to the actual microstructure; the parameters are ``effective`` parameters that absorb the effects of the heterogeneity. The conceptual issues illuminated by these conclusions must be fully understood and appreciated to further develop microstructure-property relationships in ceramic materials.« less

Integrated System of Structural Health Monitoring and Intelligent Management for a Cable-Stayed Bridge

PubMed Central

Chen, Bin; Wang, Xu; Sun, Dezhang; Xie, Xu

2014-01-01

It is essential to construct structural health monitoring systems for large important bridges. Zhijiang Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that was built recently over the Hangzhou Qiantang River (the largest river in Zhejiang Province). The length of Zhijiang Bridge is 478 m, which comprises an arched twin-tower space and a twin-cable plane structure. As an example, the present study describes the integrated system of structural health monitoring and intelligent management for Zhijiang Bridge, which comprises an information acquisition system, data management system, evaluation and decision-making system, and application service system. The monitoring components include the working environment of the bridge and various factors that affect bridge safety, such as the stress and strain of the main bridge structure, vibration, cable force, temperature, and wind speed. In addition, the integrated system includes a forecasting and decision-making module for real-time online evaluation, which provides warnings and makes decisions based on the monitoring information. From this, the monitoring information, evaluation results, maintenance decisions, and warning information can be input simultaneously into the bridge monitoring center and traffic emergency center to share the monitoring data, thereby facilitating evaluations and decision making using the system. PMID:25140342

Integrated system of structural health monitoring and intelligent management for a cable-stayed bridge.

PubMed

Chen, Bin; Wang, Xu; Sun, Dezhang; Xie, Xu

2014-01-01

It is essential to construct structural health monitoring systems for large important bridges. Zhijiang Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that was built recently over the Hangzhou Qiantang River (the largest river in Zhejiang Province). The length of Zhijiang Bridge is 478 m, which comprises an arched twin-tower space and a twin-cable plane structure. As an example, the present study describes the integrated system of structural health monitoring and intelligent management for Zhijiang Bridge, which comprises an information acquisition system, data management system, evaluation and decision-making system, and application service system. The monitoring components include the working environment of the bridge and various factors that affect bridge safety, such as the stress and strain of the main bridge structure, vibration, cable force, temperature, and wind speed. In addition, the integrated system includes a forecasting and decision-making module for real-time online evaluation, which provides warnings and makes decisions based on the monitoring information. From this, the monitoring information, evaluation results, maintenance decisions, and warning information can be input simultaneously into the bridge monitoring center and traffic emergency center to share the monitoring data, thereby facilitating evaluations and decision making using the system.

Mechanical Properties of Respiratory Muscles

PubMed Central

Sieck, Gary C.; Ferreira, Leonardo F.; Reid, Michael B.; Mantilla, Carlos B.

2014-01-01

Striated respiratory muscles are necessary for lung ventilation and to maintain the patency of the upper airway. The basic structural and functional properties of respiratory muscles are similar to those of other striated muscles (both skeletal and cardiac). The sarcomere is the fundamental organizational unit of striated muscles and sarcomeric proteins underlie the passive and active mechanical properties of muscle fibers. In this respect, the functional categorization of different fiber types provides a conceptual framework to understand the physiological properties of respiratory muscles. Within the sarcomere, the interaction between the thick and thin filaments at the level of cross-bridges provides the elementary unit of force generation and contraction. Key to an understanding of the unique functional differences across muscle fiber types are differences in cross-bridge recruitment and cycling that relate to the expression of different myosin heavy chain isoforms in the thick filament. The active mechanical properties of muscle fibers are characterized by the relationship between myoplasmic Ca2+ and cross-bridge recruitment, force generation and sarcomere length (also cross-bridge recruitment), external load and shortening velocity (cross-bridge cycling rate), and cross-bridge cycling rate and ATP consumption. Passive mechanical properties are also important reflecting viscoelastic elements within sarcomeres as well as the extracellular matrix. Conditions that affect respiratory muscle performance may have a range of underlying pathophysiological causes, but their manifestations will depend on their impact on these basic elemental structures. PMID:24265238

Installation and performance evaluation of the wabocrete FMV joint system for bridge decks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1990-01-01

A Wabocrete FMV bridge deck expansion joint system was installed on the Alternate Rte. 58 bridge over the Clinch River in November 1986. The bridge was placed in service in mid-1987. The report concerns an installation and performance evaluation of t...

Evaluation of bridge decks on Route I-64 at Hampton, Virginia.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1975-01-01

The testing of 15 bridges on Route I-64 just west of the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel marked the first major use of electrical potential readings and chloride analyses in evaluating the condition of bridge decks in Virginia. Two of the decks were also...

Study on bridge checking evaluation based on deformation-Stress data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Jing Xian; Cheng, Ying Jie

2018-06-01

Bridge structure plays a very important role in human traffic. The evaluation of bridge structure after a certain period of operation has always been the focus of the bridge. Based on the data collected from the health inspection system of a continuous rigid frame bridge on a highway in Yunnan, China, it is found that there is a certain linear relationship between the deformation and stress of the bridge structure. In view of a specific section of the structure, the stress value of this section can be derived according to its deformation value. The coefficient K can be calculated by comparing the estimated value to the actual measured value. According to the range of the K value, the structural state of the bridge can be evaluated to a certain extent.

Detailed seismic evaluation of bridges on and over the parkways in Western Kentucky.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-06-01

The report outlines a rating system and details an evaluation procedure for the seismic evaluation of highway bridges. These processes are later used to investigate the structural integrity of selected highway bridges on and over the parkways in West...

Advanced Usage of Vehicle Sketch Pad for CFD-Based Conceptual Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ordaz, Irian; Li, Wu

2013-01-01

Conceptual design is the most fluid phase of aircraft design. It is important to be able to perform large scale design space exploration of candidate concepts that can achieve the design intent to avoid more costly configuration changes in later stages of design. This also means that conceptual design is highly dependent on the disciplinary analysis tools to capture the underlying physics accurately. The required level of analysis fidelity can vary greatly depending on the application. Vehicle Sketch Pad (VSP) allows the designer to easily construct aircraft concepts and make changes as the design matures. More recent development efforts have enabled VSP to bridge the gap to high-fidelity analysis disciplines such as computational fluid dynamics and structural modeling for finite element analysis. This paper focuses on the current state-of-the-art geometry modeling for the automated process of analysis and design of low-boom supersonic concepts using VSP and several capability-enhancing design tools.

"If Only I Did Not Have That Label Attached to Me": Foregrounding Self-Positioning and Intersectionality in the Experiences of Immigrant and Refugee Youth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fruja Amthor, Ramona

2017-01-01

In order to bring forth the specific intricacies of the migration experience among comparatively understudied immigrant and refugee youth, this article bridges an intersectionality framework with multicultural education scholars' calls to flexibility and fluidity in conceptualizing culture and identity. Drawing on in-depth interviews, the analysis…

Gay and Lesbian Literature Disrupting the Heteronormative Space of the High School English Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helmer, Kirsten

2016-01-01

This paper offers insights into how the teaching of queer topics in English language arts classes can be reframed by bridging the goals, practices and conceptual tools of queer theory to literacy teaching. Drawing on an ethnographic classroom study, which explored a 13-week high school Gay and Lesbian Literature course, this paper discusses how…

Performance-Based Preparation of Principals: A Framework for Improvement. A Special Report of the NASSP Consortium for the Performance-Based Preparation of Principals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Association of Secondary School Principals, Reston, VA.

Preparation programs for principals should have excellent academic and performance based components. In examining the nature of performance based principal preparation this report finds that school administration programs must bridge the gap between conceptual learning in the classroom and the requirements of professional practice. A number of…

Verbal Behavior Analysis: A Program of Research in the Induction and Expansion of Complex Verbal Behavior

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greer, R. Douglas; Ross, Denise E.

2004-01-01

Both applied and conceptual experiments based on Skinner's theory of verbal behavior have led to significant benefits for: (a) persons with language disorders and delays, (b) students who need to bridge the achievement gap, (c) professionals who work with students, and (d) individuals who wish to design functional curricula and pedagogy to meet…

A Promising Partnership: Uncovering the Middle Ground between Social Innovation and Social Work: Response to Dr. Marilyn L. Flynn's Remarks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sensoy Bahar, Ozge

2017-01-01

This response article discusses opportunities to bridge social work and social innovation as a promising partnership to address the issues impacting vulnerable populations across the global context. It starts by revisiting the conceptualization of innovation in social work and continues by considering factors that contribute to the growing…

Teacher Support in Computer-Supported Lab Work: Bridging the Gap between Lab Experiments and Students' Conceptual Understanding

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furberg, Anniken

2016-01-01

This paper reports on a study of teacher support in a setting where students engaged with computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) in science. The empirical basis is an intervention study where secondary school students and their teacher performed a lab experiment in genetics supported by a digital learning environment. The analytical…

To Simulate or Not to Simulate? Bridging the Gap from Classroom to Profession. College Teaching Monograph.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Markovich, Denise

A simulation game being used in the economics department at the University of North Dakota to introduce students to the world of banking is described. The rationale for this approach is that the economics curriculum tends to be more conceptual than practical in content, and provides limited internship opportunities. The simulation game approach…

Teachers' Engagement with Educational Research: Toward a Conceptual Framework for Locally-Based Interpretive Communities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anwaruddin, Sardar M.

2015-01-01

In this article, I re-visit the gap between educational research and practice, by reviewing some initiatives that have been taken to bridge the gap. I argue that most of these initiatives do not pay due attention to local contexts of research use. They tend to focus more on the "management" of researchers' theoretical knowledge than on…

Comprehensive evaluation of fracture critical bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-02-01

Two-girder steel bridges are classified as fracture critical bridges based on the definition given in the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications. In a fracture critical bridge a failure of a tension member leads to collapse of the bridge. However, ...

Timber bridge evaluation : a global nondestructive approach using impact generated FRFs

Treesearch

Angus Morison; C.D. Van Karsen; H.A. Evensen; J.B. Ligon; J.R. Erickson; R.J. Ross; J.W. Forsman

2002-01-01

Bridges require periodic inspections to ensure the safety of those using the structure. A visual inspection has historically been the most common form of investigation for timber bridges. This poses many problems when inspecting bridge timbers since often the damage is internal, leaving no visible signs of decay on the surface. Localized nondestructive evaluation (NDE...

"It all depends": conceptualizing public involvement in the context of health technology assessment agencies.

PubMed

Gauvin, Francois-Pierre; Abelson, Julia; Giacomini, Mita; Eyles, John; Lavis, John N

2010-05-01

There have been calls in recent years for greater public involvement in health technology assessment (HTA). Yet the concept of public involvement is poorly articulated and little attention has been paid to the context of HTA agencies. This article investigates how public involvement is conceptualized in the HTA agency environment. Using qualitative concept analysis methods, we reviewed the HTA literature and the websites of HTA agencies and conducted semi-structured interviews with informants in Canada, Denmark, and the United Kingdom. Our analysis reveals that HTA agencies' role as bridges or boundary organizations situated at the frontier of research and policymaking causes the agencies to struggle with the idea of public involvement. The HTA community is concerned with conceptualizing public involvement in such a way as to meet scientific and methodological standards without neglecting its responsibilities to healthcare policymakers. We offer a conceptual tool for analyzing the nature of public involvement across agencies, characterizing different domains, levels of involvement, and types of publics. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of bridge deck sealers.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-06-01

This study focuses on the evaluation of bridge deck sealers commonly used on highway bridge decks and : their relative performance. After reviewing the most up-to-date research findings on chemical sealers used : by state DOTs, four sealer products t...

Bridging history and social psychology: what, how and why.

PubMed

Glăveanu, Vlad; Yamamoto, Koji

2012-12-01

This special issue aims to bridge history and social psychology by bringing together historians and social psychologists in an exercise of reading and learning from each other's work. This interdisciplinary exercise is not only timely but of great importance for both disciplines. Social psychologists can benefit from engaging with historical sources by being able to contextualise their findings and enrich their theoretical models. It is not only that all social and psychological phenomena have a history but this history is very much part of present-day and future developments. On the other hand historians can enhance their analysis of historical sources by drawing upon the conceptual tools developed in social psychology. They can "test" these tools and contribute to their validation and enrichment from completely different perspectives. Most important, as contributions to this special issue amply demonstrate, psychology's "historical turn" has the potential to shed a new light on striking, yet underexplored, similarities between contemporary public spheres and their pre-modern counterparts. This issue thereby calls into question the dichotomy between traditional and de-traditionalized societies-a distinction that lies at the heart of many social psychology accounts of the world we live in. The present editorial will introduce and consider this act of bridging history and social psychology by focusing on three main questions: What is the bridge made of? How can the two disciplines be bridged? and Why we cross this interdisciplinary bridge? In the end a reflection on the future of this collaboration will be offered.

Conceptualizing the therapist's role in therapy in psychosis.

PubMed

Dilks, Sarah; Tasker, Fiona; Wren, Bernadette

2013-09-01

This paper reports on a subset of findings from a wider ranging grounded theory analysis of therapy and recovery processes in psychosis. It describes therapist activities involved in maintaining an observational perspective during therapy and the links between these and other therapist activities. Grounded theory was used to examine the qualitative data collected. An initial sample of 19 taped therapy sessions and 23 interviews with psychologists and their clients was collected. This sample was extended through the collection of three further interviews with psychoanalytically aware psychologists. The data were analysed using grounded theory. A grounded theory model of therapy processes in psychosis was developed that conceptualized therapist actions as providing an observational scaffold to support the client's efforts in moving to new perspectives on their situation. Consistent with the understanding of the core therapy activity as a dialogical process, this set of therapist actions was understood as occurring alongside other therapist activities involved in managing emotion and building a relationship in therapy. The central activity of therapy in psychosis was understood as a dialogical process continuously negotiated between therapist and client in conversation and was conceptually summarized in the grounded theory as 'building bridges to observational perspectives'. However, the active and strategic efforts of psychologists to sustain the dialogue implied a particular assumption of responsibility for maintaining this process. In particular, therapists appeared to be 'working to maintain observational perspectives', 'managing emotion', and 'doing relationship' during the therapy conversation as part of the joint effort with clients to build bridges to new observational perspectives on distress and psychosis. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.

Evaluation of the service performance of bridge components.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-08-01

This study was initiated to provide review of common bridges to determine the performance of their components. Seven bridge types were selected that constituted 85 % of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) bridge inventory. 319 bridges were ins...

Pasteur's Quadrant: A Conceptual Framework for Bridging the "Great Divide" between Higher Education and Professional Practice in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dustin, Daniel L.; Schwab, Keri A.; Hendricks, William W.

2016-01-01

In this paper we discuss the intractability of the "great divide" between higher education and professional practice in parks, recreation, and tourism. We begin by drawing parallels between our field and other professional fields to demonstrate that the issue is not ours alone; indeed, it is common to most professional fields. We then…

Bridging an interdisciplinary gap: a case for uniting tourism and urban planning for a consistent understanding of the

Treesearch

Holly E. Bosley; Gene L. Brothers

2009-01-01

Both tourism researchers and urban planners use the term "tourist bubble" to describe a geographic area in a destination within which visitors operate. However, there is an interdisciplinary disparity in the conceptualization of the tourist bubble. This paper aims to more clearly describe the intersection of tourism and urban planning research, as well as to...

"Dear Tupac, You Speak to Me": Recruiting Hip Hop as Curriculum at a School for Pregnant and Parenting Teens

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hallman, Heidi L.

2009-01-01

This article provides a rich representation of how in-school practices that recruit students' "out-of-school" literacies, such as hip hop, can be used as critical bridges in students' learning. Hip hop, conceptualized in this article as an "out-of-school" literacy, works as a vehicle for curricular change at Eastview School for Pregnant and…

Bridge A1187 : Missouri S&T nondestructive evaluation of bridge decks - pilot study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

This research has examined the use of nondestructive techniques for concrete bridge deck condition : assessments. The primary nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) technique utilized in this research : was ground-coupled ground penetrating rada...

Triage evaluation of gusset plates in steel truss bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-12-01

Following research into the collapse of the I-35W steel truss bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota, FHWA released recommendations for load rating the gusset plates of steel truss bridges. The recommendations include evaluation of several limit states, on...

Bridge A3406 : Missouri S&T nondestructive evaluation of bridge decks - pilot study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

This research has examined the use of nondestructive techniques for concrete bridge deck condition : assessments. The primary nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) technique utilized in this research : was ground-coupled ground penetrating rada...

Bridge A1479 : Missouri S&T nondestructive evaluation of bridge decks - pilot study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

This research has examined the use of nondestructive techniques for concrete bridge deck condition : assessments. The primary nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) technique utilized in this research : was ground-coupled ground penetrating rada...

Bridge A2966 : Missouri S&T nondestructive evaluation of bridge decks - pilot study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

This research has examined the use of nondestructive techniques for concrete bridge deck condition : assessments. The primary nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) technique utilized in this research : was ground-coupled ground penetrating rada...

Bridge A2111 : Missouri S&T nondestructive evaluation of bridge decks - pilot study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

This research has examined the use of nondestructive techniques for concrete bridge deck condition : assessments. The primary nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) technique utilized in this research : was ground-coupled ground penetrating rada...

Bridge A1297 : Missouri S&T nondestructive evaluation of bridge decks - pilot study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

This research has examined the use of nondestructive techniques for concrete bridge deck condition : assessments. The primary nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) technique utilized in this research : was ground-coupled ground penetrating rada...

Bridge A1193 : Missouri S&T nondestructive evaluation of bridge decks - pilot study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

This research has examined the use of nondestructive techniques for concrete bridge deck condition : assessments. The primary nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) technique utilized in this research : was ground-coupled ground penetrating rada...

Bridge A0569 : Missouri S&T nondestructive evaluation of bridge decks - pilot study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

This research has examined the use of nondestructive techniques for concrete bridge deck condition : assessments. The primary nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) technique utilized in this research : was ground-coupled ground penetrating rada...

Bridge K0197 : Missouri S&T nondestructive evaluation of bridge decks - pilot study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

This research has examined the use of nondestructive techniques for concrete bridge deck condition : assessments. The primary nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) technique utilized in this research : was ground-coupled ground penetrating rada...

Bridge A3017 : Missouri S&T nondestructive evaluation of bridge decks - pilot study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

This research has examined the use of nondestructive techniques for concrete bridge deck condition : assessments. The primary nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) technique utilized in this research : was ground-coupled ground penetrating rada...

Bridge A3405 : Missouri S&T nondestructive evaluation of bridge decks - pilot study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

This research has examined the use of nondestructive techniques for concrete bridge deck condition : assessments. The primary nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) technique utilized in this research : was ground-coupled ground penetrating rada...

Live load monitoring for the I-10 twin span bridge : research project capsule.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-10-01

To establish a site-specific database for bridge evaluation and future bridge design, : DOTD established a long-term health monitoring system at the I-10 Twin Span Bridge. : The bridge is instrumented from deck to piles to capture bridge response (bo...

Load ratings for secondary bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1991-05-01

A load rating states the load in tons which a vehicle can impose on a bridge. : Changes in guidelines, standards, and customary uses of bridges require : analyses of bridges to be updated and re-evaluated. : In this report, twenty-two secondary bridg...

Maintenance coating of weathering steel : field evaluation and guidelines

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-03-01

This report describes a 4-year bridge and test fence evaluation of protective coatings for maintaining weathering steel bridges. The test specimens consisted of steel panels cut from existing aged weathering steel bridges, along with some new mill sc...

Evaluation of Gusset Plate Safety in Steel Truss Bridges

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-10-01

Failure of the I-35 truss bridge in Minneapolis has been attributed to failure of a gusset plate, necessitating : evaluation of gusset plate safety on bridges across the county. FHWA Publication IF-09-014 provides state : DOTs with important guidance...

Evaluation of a timber column bent substructure after more than 60 years in-service

Treesearch

James P. Wacker; Xiping Wang; Douglas R. Rammer; William J. Nelson

2011-01-01

This paper describes both the field evaluation and laboratory testing of two timber-column-bent bridge substructures. These substructures served as intermediate pier supports for the East Deer Park Drive Bridge located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. A field evaluation of the bridge substructure was conducted in September 2008. Nondestructive testing was performed with a...

Two-year evaluation indicates zirconia bridges acceptable alternative to PFMs.

PubMed

Perry, Ronald D; Kugel, Gerard; Sharma, Shradha; Ferreira, Susana; Magnuson, Britta

2012-01-01

The aim of this in-vivo study was to evaluate the 2-year clinical performance of zirconia computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM)-generated bridges. A total of 16 three- or four-unit Lava zirconia bridges were done on 15 subjects. The bridges were cemented using RelyX™ Unicem Self-Adhesive Universal Resin Cement. Evaluation was done at 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year recall visits. Evaluation criteria were color stability and matching, marginal integrity, marginal discoloration, incidence of caries, changes in restoration-tooth interface, changes in surface texture, postoperative sensitivity, maintenance of periodontal health, changes in proximal and opposing teeth, and maintenance of anatomic form. In each of these parameters, the bridges were rated in one of three possible categories: "A" (alpha)--ideal; "B" (bravo)--acceptable; and "C" (charlie)--unacceptable. After 2 years, 100% of the bridges were rated "A" for color stability and matching, marginal discoloration, incidence of caries, changes in restoration-tooth interface, changes in surface texture, postoperative sensitivity, and change in proximal or opposing teeth. In the parameter of marginal integrity, 6.25% of the bridges were rated "B;" the remaining 93.75% were rated "A." Maintenance of periodontal health was rated "B" for 6.25% of the bridges and "A" for 93.75%. At 2 years, 12.5% of the bridges rated "C" in maintenance of anatomic form and 87.5% rated "A." The overall clinical outcome was that the CAD/CAM-generated zirconia bridges were clinically acceptable.

Evaluation of design methods to determine scour depths for bridge structures : [technical summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-01-01

Scour of bridge foundations is the most common cause of bridge failures. The Federal Highway Administration : (FHWA) has developed a design method, HEC-18, for the state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) to evaluate : the scour potential of existi...

What do we know about the non-work determinants of workers' mental health? A systematic review of longitudinal studies

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background In the past years, cumulative evidence has convincingly demonstrated that the work environment is a critical determinant of workers' mental health. Nevertheless, much less attention has been dedicated towards understanding the pathways through which other pivotal life environments might also concomitantly intervene, along with the work environment, to bring about mental health outcomes in the workforce. The aim of this study consisted in conducting a systematic review examining the relative contribution of non-work determinants to the prediction of workers' mental health in order to bridge that gap in knowledge. Methods We searched electronic databases and bibliographies up to 2008 for observational longitudinal studies jointly investigating work and non-work determinants of workers' mental health. A narrative synthesis (MOOSE) was performed to synthesize data and provide an assessment of study conceptual and methodological quality. Results Thirteen studies were selected for evaluation. Seven of these were of relatively high methodological quality. Assessment of study conceptual quality yielded modest analytical breadth and depth in the ways studies conceptualized the non-work domain as defined by family, network and community/society-level indicators. We found evidence of moderate strength supporting a causal association between social support from the networks and workers' mental health, but insufficient evidence of specific indicator involvement for other analytical levels considered (i.e., family, community/society). Conclusions Largely underinvestigated, non-work determinants are important to the prediction of workers' mental health. More longitudinal studies concomitantly investigating work and non-work determinants of workers' mental health are warranted to better inform healthy workplace research, intervention, and policy. PMID:21645393

Early warning system for bridge hits by tall load vehicles.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-12-01

The prime objective of the project was to evaluate products offered by two companies. These companies are CYRA and Bridge-Test. Two of their products were evaluated to see if they can server the departmental need to check the bridge clearances quickl...

Structural evaluation of the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge : element level analysis.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-07-01

The primary objective of the structural evaluation of the John A. Roebling Bridge is to determine the maximum allowable gross vehicle weight (GVW) that can be carried by the bridge deck structural elements such as the open steel grid deck, channels, ...

Seismic evaluation and ranking of embankments for bridges on and over the parkways in Western Kentucky.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-06-01

This study represents one of the Seismic Evaluation of Bridges on and over the Parkways in Western Kentucky investigative series. The effort is focused on the seismic vulnerability of bridge embankments against slope instability and liquefaction pote...

Fatigue evaluation for Tsing Ma Bridge using structural health monitoring data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, Hung-tin Tommy; Ko, Jan Ming; Li, Zhao-Xia

2001-08-01

Fatigue assessment for the Tsing Ma Bridge (TMB) are presented based on the British standard BS5400 and the real-time structural health monitoring data under railway loading. TMB, as an essential portion of transport network for the Hong Kong airport, is the longest suspension bridge in the world carrying both highway and railway traffic. The bridge design has been mainly based on BS5400. A structural health monitoring system - Wind and Structural Health Monitoring System (WASHMS) for TMB has been operated since the bridge commissioning in May 1997. In order to assess the fatigue behavior of TMB under railway loading, strain gauges were installed on the bridge deck to measure the strain-time histories as soon as the bridge is loaded by a standard railway loading due to the service of an actual train. The strain-time history data at the critical members are then used to determine the stress spectrum, of which the rainflow method recommended for railway bridges by BS5400 is applied to count cycles of stress range. Miner's law is employed to evaluate fatigue damage and remaining service life of the bridge. The evaluated results of fatigue damage and remaining service life would help us to well understand about the fatigue design of the bridge and status in fatigue accumulation.

Health Monitoring and Evaluation of Long-Span Bridges Based on Sensing and Data Analysis: A Survey

PubMed Central

Zhou, Jianting; Li, Xiaogang; Xia, Runchuan; Yang, Jun; Zhang, Hong

2017-01-01

Aimed at the health monitoring and evaluation of bridges based on sensing technology, the monitoring contents of different structural types of long-span bridges were defined. Then, the definition, classification, selection principle, and installation requirements of the sensors were summarized. The concept was proposed that new adaptable long-life sensors could be developed by new theories and new effects. The principle and methods to select controlled sections and optimize the layout design of measuring points were illustrated. The functional requirements were elaborated on about the acquisition, transmission, processing, and management of sensing information. Some advanced concepts about the method of bridge safety evaluation were demonstrated and technology bottlenecks in the current safety evaluation were also put forward. Ultimately, combined with engineering practices, an application was carried out. The results showed that new, intelligent, and reliable sensor technology would be one of the main future development directions in the long-span bridge health monitoring and evaluation field. Also, it was imperative to optimize the design of the health monitoring system and realize its standardization. Moreover, it is a heavy responsibility to explore new thoughts and new concepts regarding practical bridge safety and evaluation technology. PMID:28300785

The Armstrong experiment revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuchs, Elmar C.; Wexler, Adam D.; Paulitsch-Fuchs, Astrid H.; Agostinho, Luewton L. F.; Yntema, Doekle; Woisetschläger, Jakob

2014-04-01

When a high-voltage direct-current is applied to two beakers filled with water or polar liquid dielectrica, a horizontal bridge forms between the two beakers. This experiment was first carried out by Lord Armstrong in 1893 and then forgotten until recently. Such bridges are stable by the action of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) forces caused by electric field gradients counteracting gravity. Due to these gradients a permanent pumping of liquid from one beaker into the other is observed. At macroscopic scale several of the properties of a horizontal water bridge can be explained by modern electrohydrodynamics, analyzing the motion of fluids in electric fields. Whereas on the molecular scale water can be described by quantum mechanics, there is a conceptual gap at mesoscopic scale which is bridged by a number of theories including quantum mechanical entanglement and coherent structures in water - theories that we discuss here. Much of the phenomenon is already understood, but even more can still be learned from it, since such "floating" liquid bridges resemble a small high voltage laboratory of their own: The physics of liquids in electric fields of some kV/cm can be studied, even long time experiments like neutron or light scattering are feasible since the bridge is in a steady-state equilibrium and can be kept stable for hours. It is also an electro-chemical reactor where compounds are transported through by the EHD flow, enabling the study of electrochemical reactions under potentials which are otherwise not easily accessible. Last but not least the bridge provides the experimental biologist with the opportunity to expose living organisms such as bacteria to electric fields without killing them, but with a significant influence on their behavior, and possibly, even on their genome.

An overheight vehicle bridge collision monitoring system using piezoelectric transducers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, G.; Olmi, C.; Gu, H.

2007-04-01

With increasing traffic volume follows an increase in the number of overheight truck collisions with highway bridges. The detection of collision impact and evaluation of the impact level is a critical issue in the maintenance of a concrete bridge. In this paper, an overheight collision detection and evaluation system is developed for concrete bridge girders using piezoelectric transducers. An electric circuit is designed to detect the impact and to activate a digital camera to take photos of the offending truck. Impact tests and a health monitoring test were conducted on a model concrete bridge girder by using three piezoelectric transducers embedded before casting. From the experimental data of the impact test, it can be seen that there is a linear relation between the output of sensor energy and the impact energy. The health monitoring results show that the proposed damage index indicates the level of damage inside the model concrete bridge girder. The proposed overheight truck-bridge collision detection and evaluation system has the potential to be applied to the safety monitoring of highway bridges.

Conceptualizing Programme Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hassan, Salochana

2013-01-01

The main thrust of this paper deals with the conceptualization of theory-driven evaluation pertaining to a tutor training programme. Conceptualization of evaluation, in this case, is an integration between a conceptualization model as well as a theoretical framework in the form of activity theory. Existing examples of frameworks of programme…

NYSDOT Bridge Deck Task Force evaluation of bridge deck cracking on NYSDOT bridges

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-02-01

This paper presents a summary of knowledge gained by the NYSDOT Bridge Deck Task Force (BDTF). Although the paper contains recommendations to reduce the prevalence and severity of bridge deck cracking, it does not include a silver bullet soluti...

The Newell Test Should Commit to Diagnosing Dysfunctions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clancey, William J.

2003-01-01

"Conceptual coordination" analysis bridges connectionism and symbolic approaches by posting a "process memory" by which categories are physically coordinated (as neural networks) in time. Focusing on dysfunctions and odd behaviors like slips reveals the function of consciousness, especially taken-for-granted constructive processes, different from conventional programming constructs. Newell strongly endorsed identifying architectural limits; the heuristic of "diagnose unusual behaviors" will provide targets of opportunity that greatly strengthens the Newell Test.

A Conceptual Model for Teaching the Relationship of Daily Life and Human Environmental Impact to Ecological Function

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wyner, Yael

2013-01-01

In the general activity of daily life, it is easy to miss our dependency on the Earth's ecology. At the same time that people are living apparently separate from the environment, our impact on the Earth is increasing. This study seeks to understand how teachers can bridge this persistent disconnect of daily life from ecology and human impact.…

Bridging Divides--Social Science, Educational Policy and the Improvement of Education and Training Systems: An Appreciation the Contribution of David Raffe (1950-2015)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howieson, Cathy; Spours, Ken; Young, Michael

2017-01-01

This Introduction provides an overview of the distinctive contribution of the late David Raffe to educational research in the UK and internationally over a 40-year period. His wide-ranging research on post-compulsory education and training systems was enriched by the development of conceptual distinctions that have become part of the lingua franca…

A question of fit: reflections on boundaries, organizations and social-ecological systems.

PubMed

Sternlieb, Faith; Bixler, R Patrick; Huber-Stearns, Heidi; Huayhuaca, Ch'aska

2013-11-30

Although there is acknowledgment that the complexity of social-ecological systems governance demands representation from diverse perspectives, there is little agreement in the literature on how to cross both fiat (human-demarcated) and bona fide (physical) boundaries to address such complexities. As a cohort of interdisciplinary scholars, we navigate the boundary between science and practice to address the question of fit regarding the role of organizations in transcending boundaries. We found there is a need to rectify discrepancies between theories about boundaries and theories about organizations. To this end, we propose a conceptual framework to analyze transboundary organizations, an umbrella term to group the literature on boundary organizations, intermediaries and bridging organizations; we introduce this term to illustrate they are not mutually exclusive and to facilitate interdisciplinary research. We first examine social-ecological systems (SES), a framework intended to improve understandings of boundaries and governance. We then continue to unpack the complexity of boundaries and organizations, specifically through important transboundary concepts such as scale and organizational learning. This helps frame our examination of the literature on: 1) boundary organizations; 2) bridging organizations (third-party entities); and 3) intermediaries (distinguished by their position between other actors). Our review identifies a number of discrepancies that pertain to the types of boundaries discussed and the roles assigned to organizations governing SES. Important characteristics have emerged from our review of transboundary organizations including legitimacy, saliency, urgency, and credibility. In developing a conceptual framework, we argue that transboundary organizations: 1) expand upon the boundary spectrum, 2) incorporate transboundary concepts, and 3) hybridize characteristics of boundary, bridging, and intermediary organizations. We conclude with a number of considerations for transboundary organizations and recommendations for further research. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Seismic evaluation and ranking of bridge embankments along I-24 in Western Kentucky.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-09-01

This study represents one of the Seismic Evaluation of I-24 Bridges investigative series. The focus is on slope or embankment stability and liquefaction potential of embankments of bridges along I-24 in Western Kentucky. A rating system is derived to...

Evaluation of corrosion and corrosion control on interstate 89 bridge #30 and #31.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-06-01

This report summarizes the evaluation of the performance of cathodic protection installed on I-89 bridges over : Gile Pond Road (NH Route 114) during a rehabilitation project in 1987. : Control bridges of I-89 over Hominy Pot Road, approximately 1.5 ...

Evaluation of the need for longitudinal median joints in bridge decks on dual structures.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-09-01

The primary objective of this project was to determine the effect of bridge width on deck cracking in bridges. Other parameters, : such as bridge skew, girder spacing and type, abutment type, pier type, and number of bridge spans, were also studied. ...

[Aging and quality of life: challenges and opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities].

PubMed

Schäper, S; Graumann, S

2012-10-01

In the coming years, a growing number of people with an intellectual disability will reach retirement age. In line with the change of paradigms, the leading ideas of participation, inclusion and self-determination have become the principles of the ideological and conceptual framework in social services for people with disabilities. However, in many places convincing concepts and arrangements of support for elderly people with intellectual disabilities are lacking, particularly beyond institutionalized concepts. The research project "Lebensqualität inklusiv(e)" (quality of life included) tries to bridge this gap. On the base of an estimation of the demographic development for this group of people, models of best practice have been documented and evaluated focusing on living conditions and the special requirements for elderly people with intellectual disabilities in order to gather ideas for the development of arrangements of support. The results show that an interdisciplinary cooperation is indispensable.

Load rating of complex bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-07-01

The National Bridge Inspection Standards require highway departments to inspect, evaluate, and determine load ratings for : structures defined as bridges located on all public roads. Load rating of bridges is performed to determine the live load that...

Research on evaluation and standardization of accelerated bridge construction techniques, part II.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-09-01

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) uses Accelerated bridge construction : (ABC) to reduce delays and minimize construction impacts. MDOT contracted and completed : several bridges using prefabricated bridge elements and systems (PBES). ...

Key Royale bridge five year evaluation : [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-06-01

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) : maintains more than 6,500 bridges. Considering : the expense of repair and replacement of bridges, : extending their durability and service life is : important. Of special concern for bridges in : mar...

Research on evaluation and standardization of accelerated bridge construction techniques, part I.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-09-01

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) uses Accelerated bridge construction : (ABC) to reduce delays and minimize construction impacts. MDOT contracted and completed : several bridges using prefabricated bridge elements and systems (PBES). ...

Design and Evaluation of Scour for Bridges Using HEC-18 (Volume 3 of 3).

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-07-04

The overall objective of this research is the development of a new approach for evaluating bridge scour for New Jersey's bridges on non-tidal waterways. The study commenced with a web-based survey of scour practice within the U.S. and a literature re...

Design and Evaluation of Scour for Bridges Using HEC-18 (Volume 1 of 3).

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-07-04

The overall objective of this research is the development of a new approach for evaluating bridge scour for New Jersey's bridges on non-tidal waterways. The study commenced with a web-based survey of scour practice within the U.S. and a literature re...

Detection of CMOS bridging faults using minimal stuck-at fault test sets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ijaz, Nabeel; Frenzel, James F.

1993-01-01

The performance of minimal stuck-at fault test sets at detecting bridging faults are evaluated. New functional models of circuit primitives are presented which allow accurate representation of bridging faults under switch-level simulation. The effectiveness of the patterns is evaluated using both voltage and current testing.

Seismic evaluation of the Cumberland River Bridges on I-24 in Western Kentucky.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-09-01

The main objective of this study is to assess the structural integrity of the I-24 parallel bridges at the Cumberland River crossing in western Kentucky. Due to its importance, the bridge is evaluated for the 250-year event and the maximum credible 5...

Design and Evaluation of Scour for Bridges Using HEC-18 (Volume 2 of 3).

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-07-04

The overall objective of this research is the development of a new approach for evaluating bridge scour for New Jersey's bridges on non-tidal waterways. The study commenced with a web-based survey of scour practice within the U.S. and a literature re...

An evaluation of two bridge deck overlay systems on the Rte. 85 bridges over the Roanoke River.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1971-01-01

Because of exposed reinforcing steel in some areas of the decks, the interstate route 85 bridges over the Roanoke River were treated with overlays in August 1969. In order to evaluate two different materials on a comparative basis, the Department of ...

Bridge scour monitoring technologies : development of evaluation and selection protocols for application on river bridges in Minnesota.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-03-01

Bridge failure or loss of structural integrity can result from scour of riverbed sediment near bridge abutments or : piers during high-flow events in rivers. In the past 20 years, several methods of monitoring bridge scour have been : developed spann...

Precast concrete elements for accelerated bridge construction : laboratory testing, field testing, evaluation of a precast concrete bridge, Madison County bridge.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

The importance of rapid construction technologies has been recognized by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Iowa : DOT Office of Bridges and Structures. Recognizing this a two-lane single-span precast box girder bridge was constructed ...

A technical report on structural evaluation of the Meade County reinforced concrete bridge : research [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

Meade County Bridge is a two-lane highway reinforced concrete bridge with two girders each with 20 continuous spans. The bridge was built in 1965. It has been reported that in early years of the bridge service period, a considerable amount of cracks ...

Evaluation of Effects of Fire on the I-465 Mainline Bridges : Volume II

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-06-01

Currently, when a bridge has been involved in a fire loading, DOT and inspectors are called to determine if the bridge is passable to : traffic. Inspectors must close the bridge for an indefinite period of time to take material samples from the bridg...

Diagnostic evaluation and repair of deteriorated concrete bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-12-01

Concrete bridge deck degradation has been observed in several bridges located in north Mississippi. In this study a : survey was conducted to collect and document instances of deterioration in concrete bridges located throughout the State. The : main...

Key Royale bridge five year evaluation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-06-01

This report describes the design, construction, instrumentation, and five-year evaluation of the Key Royale Bridge substructure. The primary focus was the evaluation of the implementation of highly reactive supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) ...

Evaluation of a Summer Bridge: Critical Component of the Leadership 2.0 Program.

PubMed

Pritchard, Tracy J; Perazzo, Joseph D; Holt, Julie A; Fishback, Benjamin P; McLaughlin, Michaela; Bankston, Karen D; Glazer, Greer

2016-04-01

Summer bridges facilitate the transition from high school to college. Although many schools employ summer bridges, few have published outcomes. This article's purpose is to share preconceptions of college by underrepresented and disadvantaged nursing students and describe important elements and long-term impact of a summer bridge, a component of the Leadership 2.0 program. A longitudinal study design was used to collect baseline, short-term, and long-term post-summer bridge data. Methods included pre- and postsurveys, interviews, and focus groups. After bridge completion, students felt more prepared for the nursing program. Students ranked socialization components as most important. The summer bridge had lasting impact through the first year, where grade point average and retention of underrepresented and disadvantaged bridge students was comparable to the majority first-year students. The summer bridge was effective in preparing nursing students for the first year of college. Through holistic evaluation, unique aspects of socialization critical to student success were uncovered. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

Verification of Texas superheavy load criteria for bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-11-01

This report evaluates TxDOT criteria for the superheavy loads that trigger bridge analyses to determine : whether the criteria adequately protects Texas bridges. Researchers used solid modeling calibrated with a : bridge test of a 3-span continuous s...

Diagnostic evaluation and repair of deteriorated concrete bridges

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-12-01

Concrete bridge deck degradation has been observed in several bridges located in north Mississippi. In this study a survey was conducted to collect and document instances of deterioration in concrete bridges located throughout the State. The main cau...

An expert system for the esthetic rating of bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1990-01-01

The expert system presented should facilitate the in-depth analysis of bridge esthetics and encourage high standards for the appearance of bridges. The procedure described systematically evaluates features of a target bridge in relation to a similar ...

Geosynthetic reinforced soil for low-volume bridge abutments.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-01-01

This report presents a review of literature on geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) bridge abutments, and test results and analysis from two : field demonstration projects (Bridge 1 and Bridge 2) conducted in Buchanan County, Iowa, to evaluate the feas...

Field evaluation of corrosion inhibitors for concrete : interim report 2, evaluation of installation and initial condition of bridge repairs done with corrosion-inhibiting admixtures and topical treatments.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-06-01

Four bridge decks were overlayed and patched and one bridge pier was patched using concrete with and without corrosion inhibiting admixtures. Some concrete surfaces received topically applied corrosion-inhibiting treatments prior to placement of the ...

Development and evaluation of a dual purpose bridge health monitoring and weigh-in-motion system for a steel girder bridge : phase two.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-06-30

The primary objective of this second phase is the further development, demonstration : and field evaluation of a permanent dual purpose bridge weigh-in-motion and health monitoring : system over an extended period of time. Calibrated test truck resul...

Long continuous bridge deck evaluation : John Day River Bridge, Clatsop County, Bridge No. 1827B : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-06-01

The John Day River Bridge, near Astoria, Oregon was built with a continuous deck length of 1,105 ft. (340 m). The rationale for designing the John Day River Bridge with an unusually long continuous deck is in part based on the site's very mild climat...

Evaluation of streambed scour at bridges over tidal waterways in Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Conaway, Jeffrey S.; Schauer, Paul V.

2012-01-01

The potential for streambed scour was evaluated at 41 bridges that cross tidal waterways in Alaska. These bridges are subject to several coastal and riverine processes that have the potential, individually or in combination, to induce streambed scour or to damage the structure or adjacent channel. The proximity of a bridge to the ocean and water-surface elevation and velocity data collected over a tidal cycle were criteria used to identify the flow regime at each bridge, whether tidal, riverine, or mixed, that had the greatest potential to induce streambed scour. Water-surface elevations measured through at least one tide cycle at 32 bridges were correlated to water levels at the nearest tide station. Asymmetry of the tidal portion of the hydrograph during the outgoing tide at 12 bridges indicated that riverine flows were stored upstream of the bridge during the tidal exchange. This scenario results in greater discharges and velocities during the outgoing tide compared to those on the incoming tide. Velocity data were collected during outgoing tides at 10 bridges that experienced complete flow reversals, and measured velocities during the outgoing tide exceeded the critical velocity required to initiate sediment transport at three sites. The primary risk for streambed scour at most of the sites considered in this study is from riverine flows rather than tidal fluctuations. A scour evaluation for riverine flow was completed at 35 bridges. Scour from riverine flow was not the primary risk for six tidally-controlled bridges and therefore not evaluated at those sites. Field data including channel cross sections, a discharge measurement, and a water-surface slope were collected at the 35 bridges. Channel instability was identified at 14 bridges where measurable scour and or fill were noted in repeated surveys of channel cross sections at the bridge. Water-surface profiles for the 1-percent annual exceedance probability discharge were calculated by using the Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System model, and scour depths were calculated using methods recommended by the Federal Highway Administration. Computed contraction-scour depths were greater than 2.0 feet at five bridges and computed pier-scour depths were 4.0 feet or greater at 15 bridges. The potential for streambed scour by both coastal and riverine processes at the bridges considered in this study were evaluated, ranked, and summed to determine a cumulative risk factor for each bridge. Possible factors that could mitigate the scour risks were investigated at 22 bridges that had high individual or cumulative rankings. Mitigating factors such as piers founded in bedrock, deep pier foundations relative to scour depths, and lack of observed scour during field measurements were documented for 13 sites, but additional study and monitoring is needed to better quantify the streambed scour potential for nine sites. Three bridges prone to being affected by storm surges will require more data collection and possibly complex hydrodynamic modeling to accurately quantify the streambed scour potential. Continuous monitoring of water-surface and streambed elevation at one or more piers is needed for two bridges to better understand the tidal and riverine influences on streambed scour.

The Getting To Outcomes Demonstration and Evaluation: An Illustration of the Prevention Support System

PubMed Central

Hunter, Sarah B.; Ebener, Patricia; Paddock, Susan M.; Stillman, Lindsey; Imm, Pamela; Wandersman, Abraham

2010-01-01

Communities are increasingly being required by state and federal funders to achieve outcomes and be accountable, yet are often not provided the guidance or the tools needed to successfully meet this challenge. To improve the likelihood of achieving positive outcomes, the Getting To Outcomes (GTO) intervention (manual, training, technical assistance) is designed to provide the necessary guidance and tools, tailored to community needs, in order to build individual capacity and program performance. GTO is an example of a Prevention Support System intervention, which as conceptualized by the Interactive Systems Framework, plays a key role in bridging the gap between prevention science (Prevention Synthesis and Translation System) and prevention practice (Prevention Delivery System). We evaluated the impact of GTO on individual capacity and program performance using survey- and interview-based methods. We tracked the implementation of GTO and gathered user feedback about its utility and acceptability. The evaluation of GTO suggests that it can build individual capacity and program performance and as such demonstrates that the Prevention Support System can successfully fulfill its intended role. Lessons learned from the implementation of GTO relevant to illuminating the framework are discussed. PMID:18278551

Aesthetic bridge rails, transitions, and terminals for park roads and parkways

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1990-05-01

The objective of this project was to test aesthetic bridge rails for park roads, parkways, and other roads under Federal jurisdiction. Four designs were analyzed and evaluated: the Modified (Kansas Corral bridge rail, the Forest Service glulam bridge...

Evaluation of cracking of the US 331 bridge deck.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-08-01

The focus of this report is a three-span, continuous, skewed bridge that was constructed in the : summer of 2003 as the northbound roadway bridge on US 331 in Montgomery County, : Alabama. This bridge deck exhibited extensive transverse and horizonta...

Optimal bridge retrofit strategy to enhance disaster resilience of highway transportation systems.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-07-01

This study evaluated the resilience of highway bridges under the multihazard scenario of earthquake in the presence of : flood-induced scour. To mitigate losses incurred from bridge damage during extreme events, bridge retrofit strategies are : selec...

Using building information modeling to track and assess the structural condition of bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-08-01

National Bridge Inspection Standards do not require documenting damage locations during an inspection, but bridge evaluation provisions highlight the importance of it. When determining a safe load-carrying capacity of a bridge, damage location inform...

Site investigation of bridges on and over the parkways in Western Kentucky.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-06-01

Determination of the seismic risk of the bridges on and over the parkways in Western Kentucky requires evaluating the current condition of the individual elements of the bridges. Except for culverts, all bridges were visually inspected, photographed ...

Analysis of shielded CPW discontinuities with air-bridges

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dib, N. I.; Katehi, P. B.; Ponchak, George E.

1992-01-01

The effect of air-bridges on the performance of various coplanar waveguides (CPW) discontinuities is studied. Specifically, the coupled open-end CPW's and the short-end shunt CPW stub discontinuities are considered. The high frequency effect of the air-bridge is evaluated using a hybrid technique. At first, the frequency dependent equivalent circuit of the planar discontinuity without the air-bridge is derived using the Space Domain Integral Equation (SDIE) method. Then, the circuit is modified by incorporating the air-bridge's parasitic inductance and capacitance which are evaluated using a simple quasi-static model. The frequency response of each discontinuity with and without the air-bridge is studied and the scattering parameters are plotted in the frequency range 30-50 GHz for typical CPW dimensions.

Commentary: An Asian Americanist Perspective on Child Development.

PubMed

Lee, Richard M; Y J Kim, Adam; Zhou, Xiang

2016-07-01

In this commentary, we put forth an Asian Americanist perspective on child development that frames, expands upon, and at times challenges the contextual, conceptual, and methodological ideas put forward by Kiang et al., Mistry et al., and Yoshikawa et al. (this volume). This Asian Americanist perspective draws upon scholarship in Asian American Studies and critical race theory to bridge the historical, conceptual, and methodological contributions of the three articles. We also aim to challenge current and future generations of scholars studying Asian American child development to look at Asian American youth and families as autonomous, self-determining agents who are capable of challenging, resisting, and affecting change in a racialized society. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Evaluation of long-term prestress losses in post-tensioned box-girder bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-03-01

Most of the recent highway bridges built in California have post-tensioned, cast-in-place, concrete box-girder superstructures rigidly connected to bridge columns. However, methods provided in the current (2007 and 2010) AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Spe...

Post-earthquake traffic capacity of modern bridges in California.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-03-01

Evaluation of the capacity of a bridge to carry self-weight and traffic loads after an earthquake is essential for a safe and timely re-opening of the bridge. In California, modern highway bridges designed using the Caltrans Seismic Design Criteria a...

Post-Earthquake Traffic Capacity of Modern Bridges in California

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-03-01

Evaluation of the capacity of a bridge to carry self-weight and traffic loads after an earthquake is essential for a : safe and timely re-opening of the bridge. In California, modern highway bridges designed using the Caltrans : Seismic Design Criter...

Evaluation of bridge replacement alternatives for the county bridge system.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1994-08-01

Recent reports have indicated that 23.5 percent of the nation's highway bridges are : structurally deficient and 17.7 percent are functionally obsolete. A significant number of these bridges : are on the Iowa county road system. The objective of the ...

Finite element modeling approach and performance evaluation of fiber reinforced polymer sandwich bridge panels : summary.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-08-01

In the United States, about 27% of the bridges are classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Bridge owners are continually investigating methods to effectively retrofit existing bridges, or to economically replace them with new o...

Structural evaluation of the historic John A. Roebling suspension bridge.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-04-01

he John A. Roebling suspension bridge, formerly the Covington-Cincinnati suspension bridge over the Ohio River was completed in 1867 and is still serving the Northern Kentucky community. The objective of this study is to assess the bridge load capaci...

Remote bridge scour monitoring : a prioritization and implementation guideline

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-05-01

Having the largest bridge population in the nation, the state of Texas stands to gain much through the development of bridge scour-monitoring and evaluation practices. Because it has such a large bridge population to manage, the Texas Department of T...

Finite element modeling approach and performance evaluation of fiber reinforced polymer sandwich bridge panels : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-08-01

In the United States, about 27% of the bridges are classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. : Bridge owners are continually investigating methods to effectively retrofit existing bridges, or to economically replace : them with n...

Identification and evaluation of pavement-bridge interface ride quality improvement and corrective strategies.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

Bridge owners have long recognized that the approach pavement at bridges is prone to exhibiting both settlement and : cracking, which manifest as the bump at the end of the bridge. This deterioration requires considerable on-going : maintenance...

Implementation and non-destructive evaluation of composite structural shapes in the Tom's Creek Bridge.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-01-01

A bridge rehabilitation utilizing a hybrid fiber reinforced polymeric composite has been completed in Blacksburg, Virginia. This project involved replacing the superstructure in the Tom's Creek Bridge, a rural short-span traffic bridge with a timber ...

Nouvelle methode d'integration energetique pour la retro-installation des procedes industriels et la transformation des usines papetieres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonhivers, Jean-Christophe

The increase in production of goods over the last decades has led to the need for improving the management of natural resources management and the efficiency of processes. As a consequence, heat integration methods for industry have been developed. These have been successful for the design of new plants: the integration principles are largely employed, and energy intensity has dramatically decreased in many processes. Although progress has also been achieved in integration methods for retrofit, these methods still need further conceptual development. Furthermore, methodological difficulties increase when trying to retrofit heat exchange networks that are closely interrelated to water networks, such as the case of pulp and paper mills. The pulp and paper industry seeks to increase its profitability by reducing production costs and optimizing supply chains. Recent process developments in forestry biorefining give this industry the opportunity for diversification into bio-products, increasing potential profit margins, and at the same time modernizing its energy systems. Identification of energy strategies for a mill in a changing environment, including the possibility of adding a biorefinery process on the industrial site, requires better integration methods for retrofit situations. The objective of this thesis is to develop an energy integration method for the retrofit of industrial systems and the transformation of pulp and paper mills, ant to demonstrate the method in case studies. Energy is conserved and degraded in a process. Heat can be converted into electricity, stored as chemical energy, or rejected to the environment. A systematic analysis of successive degradations of energy between the hot utilities until the environment, through process operations and existing heat exchangers, is essential in order to reduce the heat consumption. In this thesis, the "Bridge Method" for energy integration by heat exchanger network retrofit has been developed. This method is the first that considers the analysis of these degradations. The fundamental mechanism to reduce the heat consumption in an existing network has been made explicit; it is the basis of the developed method. The Bridge Method includes the definition of "a bridge", which is a set of modifications leading to heat reduction in a heat exchanger network. It is proven that, for a given set of streams, only bridges can lead to heat savings. The Bridge Method also includes (1) a global procedure for heat exchanger network retrofit, (2) a procedure to enumerate systematically the bridges, (3) "a network table" to easily evaluate them, and (4) an "energy transfer diagram" showing the effect of the two first principles of thermodynamics of energy conservation and degradation in industrial processes in order to identify energy savings opportunities. The Bridge Method can be used for the analysis of networks including several types of heat transfer, and site-wide analysis. The Bridge Method has been applied in case studies for retrofitting networks composed of indirect-contact heat exchangers, including the network of a kraft pulp mill, and also networks of direct-contact heat exchangers, including the hot water production system of a pulp mill. The method has finally been applied for the evaluation of a biorefinery process, alone or hosted in a kraft pulp mill. Results show that the use of the method significantly reduces the search space and leads to identification of the relevant solutions. The necessity of a bridge to reduce the inputs and outputs of a process is a consequence of the two first thermodynamics principles of energy conservation and increase in entropy. The concept of bridge alone can also be used as a tool for process analysis, and in numerical optimization-based approaches for energy integration.

Performance Assessment of Bridges Using GPS: The Juarez Bridge in Culiacan, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vazquez, G. E.; Gaxiola-Camacho, J. R.; Trejo, M.; Echagaray, J.; Guzman, G. M.

2015-12-01

Performance assessment of bridges has become very important during recent years. Bridges around the world are aging, leading to the incorporation of efficient, reliable, and economic evaluation procedures. These techniques must assess properly the performance of bridges under several loading conditions in a real manner, representing the physics of the problem. Among several approaches, Global Positioning System (GPS) can be intelligently used for the performance evaluation of bridges. We focused on GPS, since it naturally produces position estimates as compared to seismic instruments that record either velocity or acceleration, and thus require an integration. There are several reasons that make the Juarez Bridge a case of study for evaluation: it is approximately 45 years old, it is a reinforced concrete structure, it connects two significant zones of the city, and its spans is closely to 200 meters long. In addition, thousands of vehicles and pedestrians use the Juarez Bridge every day, which make feasible the GPS performance assessment. Hence, in order to produce optimal position estimates, GPS data were collected during two consecutive hours at three different periods of the day for a whole week (Monday through Sunday), to represent three critical limit states of the bridge (mid-span and end-spans). GPS data were processed using the GAMIT/GLOBK software, considering 1-second sampling rate, 15-degree cutoff angle, ionosphere-free double-differenced (DD) carrier phase method, and precise final orbits disseminated by IGS (International GNSS Service). The displacements obtained from the above discussed procedure are compared with allowable values documented in bridge construction manuals. Reliability theory was used to evaluate the probability of failure of the bridge for the three periods of the day. In addition, a conclusion was made about the most risky day of the week for the use of the Juarez Bridge. It is expected that the results from the proposed research will provide enough information to document non-permissible movements of the Juarez Bridge. Finally, guidance for future retrofit of the structure will be fully available.

Condition assessment of timber bridges. 2, Evaluation of several stress-wave tools

Treesearch

Brian K. Brashaw; Robert J. Vatalaro; James P. Wacker; Robert J. Ross

2005-01-01

This study was conducted to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of several stress-wave devices widely used for locating deteriorated areas in timber bridge members. Bridge components containing different levels of natural decay were tested using various devices. The specimens were then sawn (along their length) into slabs to expose their interior condition. The...

Experimental evaluation and design of unfilled and concrete-filled FRP composite piles, task 2 - FRP composite pile driving at the Richmond-Dresden bridge over the Kennebec River.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-01-01

The overall goal of this project is the experimental evaluation and design of unfilled and concrete-filled FRP : composite piles for load-bearing in bridges. This report covers Task 2, FRP Composite Pile Driving at the : Richmond-Dresden Bridge over ...

Evaluating fire-damaged components of historic covered bridges

Treesearch

Brian Kukay; Charles Todd; Tyler Jahn; Jenson Sannon; Logan Dunlap; Robert White; Mark Dietenberger

2016-01-01

Arson continues to claim many historic covered bridges. Site-specific, post-fire evaluations of the structural integrity of a bridge are often necessary in a fire’s aftermath. Decisions on whether individual wood components can be rehabilitated, reconstructed, or replaced must be made. This report includes coverage of existing approaches and exploratory approaches that...

Aesthetic coatings for concrete bridge components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kriha, Brent R.

This thesis evaluated the durability and aesthetic performance of coating systems for utilization in concrete bridge applications. The principle objectives of this thesis were: 1) Identify aesthetic coating systems appropriate for concrete bridge applications; 2) Evaluate the performance of the selected systems through a laboratory testing regimen; 3) Develop guidelines for coating selection, surface preparation, and application. A series of site visits to various bridges throughout the State of Wisconsin provided insight into the performance of common coating systems and allowed problematic structural details to be identified. To aid in the selection of appropriate coating systems, questionnaires were distributed to coating manufacturers, bridge contractors, and various DOT offices to identify high performing coating systems and best practices for surface preparation and application. These efforts supplemented a literature review investigating recent publications related to formulation, selection, surface preparation, application, and performance evaluation of coating materials.

Evaluation of abutment scour prediction equations with field data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Benedict, S.T.; Deshpande, N.; Aziz, N.M.

2007-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with FHWA, compared predicted abutment scour depths, computed with selected predictive equations, with field observations collected at 144 bridges in South Carolina and at eight bridges from the National Bridge Scour Database. Predictive equations published in the 4th edition of Evaluating Scour at Bridges (Hydraulic Engineering Circular 18) were used in this comparison, including the original Froehlich, the modified Froehlich, the Sturm, the Maryland, and the HIRE equations. The comparisons showed that most equations tended to provide conservative estimates of scour that at times were excessive (as large as 158 ft). Equations also produced underpredictions of scour, but with less frequency. Although the equations provide an important resource for evaluating abutment scour at bridges, the results of this investigation show the importance of using engineering judgment in conjunction with these equations.

Development and validation of deterioration models for concrete bridge decks - phase 1 : artificial intelligence models and bridge management system.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-06-01

This research documents the development and evaluation of artificial neural network (ANN) models to predict the condition ratings of concrete highway bridge decks in Michigan. Historical condition assessments chronicled in the national bridge invento...

Evaluation of the Buena Vista IBRD bridge : a furthering of accelerated bridge construction in Iowa.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-02-01

The need to construct bridges that last longer, are less expensive, and take less time to build has increased. The importance of accelerated bridge construction (ABC) technologies has been realized by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the...

Geotextile reinforced bridge approach embankment : Lake River Bridge - Malin Highway , Klamath County, Oregon : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-08-01

An experimental construction method was evaluated at the Lost River Bridge in Klamath County to reduce the discontinuity between the bridge and the roadway. The method included combining soil in six 300-mm lifts interlaced with geotextile reinforceme...

Using expert opinion to quantify accuracy and reliability of nondestructive evaluation on bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-08-01

Bridge inspection is an important phase in bridge management. In 2009, a joint American Society of Civil : Engineers Structural Engineering Institute and AASHTO Ad-Hoc group was created to identify the issues : in bridge safety and to study current b...

Site investigation of bridges along the I-24 in Western Kentucky.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-09-01

Determination of the seismic risk of the I-24 bridges requires evaluating the current condition of all individual elements of the bridges. All bridges along the I-24 were visually inspected, pictured, and the records were stored in a database. Data o...

Performance evaluation of bridges with structural bridge deck overlays (SBDO).

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-03-01

Structural Bridge Deck Overlay (SBDO) involves applying 6 to 10 inches (150 to 200 mm) of normal weight, class AA, reinforced concrete directly to a bridges original slab. The overlay is designed to increase the deck elevation to an extent that st...

Identification and evaluation of pavement-bridge interface ride quality improvement and corrective strategies : executive summary report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

Bridge owners have long recognized that the approach pavement at bridges is prone to exhibiting both : settlement and cracking, which manifest as the bump at the end of the bridge. This deterioration : requires considerable on-going maintenance...

Bridging the Silos of Service Delivery for High-Need, High-Cost Individuals.

PubMed

Sherry, Melissa; Wolff, Jennifer L; Ballreich, Jeromie; DuGoff, Eva; Davis, Karen; Anderson, Gerard

2016-12-01

Health care reform efforts that emphasize value have increased awareness of the importance of nonmedical factors in achieving better care, better health, and lower costs in the care of high-need, high-cost individuals. Programs that care for socioeconomically disadvantaged, high-need, high-cost individuals have achieved promising results in part by bridging traditional service delivery silos. This study examined 5 innovative community-oriented programs that are successfully coordinating medical and nonmedical services to identify factors that stimulate and sustain community-level collaboration and coordinated care across silos of health care, public health, and social services delivery. The authors constructed a conceptual framework depicting community health systems that highlights 4 foundational factors that facilitate community-oriented collaboration: flexible financing, shared leadership, shared data, and a strong shared vision of commitment toward delivery of person-centered care.

Evaluation of RC Bridge Piers Retrofitted using Fiber-Reinforced Polymer (FRP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shayanfar, M. A.; Zarrabian, M. S.

2008-07-01

For many long years, steel reinforcements have been considered as the only tool for concrete confinements and studied widely, but nowadays application of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) as an effective alternative is well appreciated. Many bridges have been constructed in the past that are necessary to be retrofitted for resisting against the earthquake motions. The objective of this research is evaluation of nonlinear behavior of RC bridge piers. Eight RC bridge piers have been modeled by ABAQUS software under micromechanical model for homogeneous anisotropic fibers. Also the Bilinear Confinement Model by Nonlinear Transition Zone of Mirmiran has been considered. Then types and angles of fibers and their effects on the final responses were evaluated [1]. Finally, effects of retrofitting are evaluated and some suggestions presented.

Evaluation of experimental installation of silane treatment on bridges : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1988-04-01

In this project the effectiveness of silane-based chemicals as concrete sealants was evaluated for selected bridges throughout the state of Louisiana for a five-year period. The field evaluation was initiated after satisfactory results in the laborat...

Building Bridges to Integrate Care (BRIDGES): Incubating Health Service Innovation across the Continuum of Care for Patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions.

PubMed

Bhattacharyya, Onil; Schull, Michael; Shojania, Kaveh; Stergiopoulos, Vicky; Naglie, Gary; Webster, Fiona; Brandao, Ricardo; Mohammed, Tamara; Christian, Jennifer; Hawker, Gillian; Wilson, Lynn; Levinson, Wendy

2016-01-01

Integrating care for people with complex needs is challenging. Indeed, evidence of solutions is mixed, and therefore, well-designed, shared evaluation approaches are needed to create cumulative learning. The Toronto-based Building Bridges to Integrate Care (BRIDGES) collaborative provided resources to refine and test nine new models linking primary, hospital and community care. It used mixed methods, a cross-project meta-evaluation and shared outcome measures. Given the range of skills required to develop effective interventions, a novel incubator was used to test and spread opportunities for system integration that included operational expertise and support for evaluation and process improvement.

"I've never been a yes person": Decision-making participation and self-conceptualization after severe traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Knox, Lucy; Douglas, Jacinta M; Bigby, Christine

2017-11-01

Although adults who sustain a severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) require support to make decisions in their lives, little is known about their experience of this process. The aim of this study was to explore how participation in decision making contributes to self-conceptualization in adults with severe TBI. We used constructivist grounded theory methods. Data included 20 in-depth interviews with adults with severe TBI. Through a process of constant comparison, analysis involved open and focused coding until clear categories emerged and data saturation was achieved. Self-conceptualization emerged as a complex and multifaceted process, as individuals with TBI aimed to reestablish a sense of autonomy. We describe a recursive relationship in which decision-making participation assists the dynamic construction of self, and self-concept contributes to the experience of making decisions. The role of an individual's social support network in acting as a bridge between participation and self-conceptualization is presented. Findings emphasize that contributing to decisions about one's own goals across a range of life areas can reinforce a positive self-concept. It is vital that supporters understand that participation in decision making provides a pathway to conceptualizing self and aim to maximize the person's participation in the decision-making process. Implications for Rehabilitation Previous research has identified that the experience of sustaining TBI has a significant impact on a person's conceptualization of self. This study identified that decision-making experiences play an important role in the ongoing process of self-conceptualization after injury. Decision-making experiences can reinforce a person's self-concept or lead them to revise (positively or negatively) their sense of self. By maximizing the person's decision-making participation, those around them can support them to develop positive self-attributes and contribute to shaping their future goals.

Natural language generation of surgical procedures.

PubMed

Wagner, J C; Rogers, J E; Baud, R H; Scherrer, J R

1998-01-01

The GALEN-IN-USE project has developed a compositional scheme for the conceptual representation of surgical operative procedure rubrics. The complex representations which result are translated back to surface language by a tool for multilingual natural language generation. This generator can be adapted to the specific characteristics of the scheme by introducing particular definitions of concepts and relationships. We discuss how the generator uses such definitions to bridge between the modelling 'style' of the GALEN scheme and natural language.

Contributions of Kurt Goldstein to neuropsychology.

PubMed

Goldstein, Gerald

1990-03-01

Kurt Goldstein was a pioneer of neuropsychology; his long career bridged a time-span between nineteenth century European behavioral neurology and the modern era of clinical neuropsychology. In this retrospective analysis of his major contributions, it is suggested that many of his previously ignored or rejected ideas have gained wide acceptance in their modern versions. Illustrations of this suggestion are offered in the areas of conceptualization of symptom formation, frontal lobe function, the abstract attitude, aphasia, schizophrenia, rehabilitation, and neuropsychological assessment.

Short-term evaluation of a bridge cable using acoustic emission sensors.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-05-01

The Varina-Enon Bridge carries I-295 across the James River and crosses over the shipping channel that leads to the Richmond (Virginia) Marine Terminal. The bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that was opened to traffic in July 1990. It has 150 ft of ver...

Precast concrete elements for accelerated bridge construction : laboratory testing, field testing, and evaluation of a precast concrete bridge, Black Hawk County.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

The importance of rapid construction technologies has been recognized by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Iowa : DOT Office of Bridges and Structures. Black Hawk County (BHC) has developed a precast modified beam-in-slab bridge (PMBI...

Structural evaluation of LIC-310-0396 and FAY-35-17-6.82 box beams with advanced strand deterioration : executive summary report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-09-01

Adjacent prestressed concrete box beam bridges are popular in Ohio with approximately 1,100 bridges existing that are under ODOT maintenance responsibility, amounting to approximately 9% of all Ohios bridges. However, these bridges are also very c...

Design and Evaluation of Scour for Bridges Using HEC-18 : technical brief.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-07-01

This project developed a new approach for evaluating erosive scour at New Jersey bridges over non-tidal waterways. The main deliverable was the Scour Evaluation Model (SEM), which offers new analysis procedures, while still retaining the applicable p...

Vehicle - Bridge interaction, comparison of two computing models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melcer, Jozef; Kuchárová, Daniela

2017-07-01

The paper presents the calculation of the bridge response on the effect of moving vehicle moves along the bridge with various velocities. The multi-body plane computing model of vehicle is adopted. The bridge computing models are created in two variants. One computing model represents the bridge as the Bernoulli-Euler beam with continuously distributed mass and the second one represents the bridge as the lumped mass model with 1 degrees of freedom. The mid-span bridge dynamic deflections are calculated for both computing models. The results are mutually compared and quantitative evaluated.

Field performance of stress-laminated timber bridges on low-volume roads

Treesearch

M. A. Ritter; J. P. Wacker; S. R. Duwadi

1995-01-01

Stress-laminated timber bridges were first introduced in the United States in the late 1980s. Since that time, the concept of stress-laminating has received a great deal of attention and hundreds of bridges have been built. Most of these bridges are located on rural low-volume roads. To evaluate the performance of stress-laminated bridges, the United States Department...

Field performance of timber bridges. 16, North Siwell Road stress-laminated bridge

Treesearch

J. A. Kainz

The North Siwell Road bridge was constructed during December 1994 in Hinds County, Mississippi. The bridge is a single-span, stress-laminated T-beam structure that measures 9.1 m (30 ft) long and 8.7 m (28.5 ft) wide. Performance of the bridge was monitored for 24 months, beginning at the time of installation. Monitoring involved gathering and evaluating data relative...

Characterization of railroad bridge service interruptions.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-02-01

The Federal Railroad Administration contracted Transportation Technology Center, Inc., to study bridge problems that cause accidents or service interruptions and to use this information to evaluate the need to develop bridge monitoring systems. Exist...

Assessment of Risk Evaluation Procedures for USACE Bridges

DTIC Science & Technology

2018-03-19

upon a well-suited inventory management system, it is too heavily dependent upon subjective assessments by select individuals and that risk of failure...3 Bridge Management Systems...4 3 USACE Bridge Management

Prevalence of myocardial bridging detected with 64-slice multidetector coronary computed tomography angiography in asymptomatic adults.

PubMed

Atar, Eli; Kornowski, Ran; Fuchs, Shmuell; Naftali, Noa; Belenky, Alexander; Bachar, Gil N

2007-10-01

Myocardial bridging is a congenital condition in which a segment of an epicardial artery has an intramural course within the myocardium. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of myocardial bridging and the ability of 64-slice coronary computed tomography angiography to identify myocardial bridging in asymptomatic adults. One hundred sixty-nine consecutive asymptomatic subjects underwent 64-row multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) of the coronary arteries. Two experienced CT radiologists identified myocardial bridging >1 mm in thickness, by consensus. We examined the frequency of myocardial bridging and evaluated the length, thickness, and coronary wall lesions. Myocardial bridges were found in 28 (17%) of 165 subjects. Twenty-one subjects (75%) had 1 bridge and 7 subjects (25%) had 2, for a total of 35 myocardial bridges. Twenty-one bridges (60%) were located in the left anterior descending, 8.5% in the diagonal branch, and 2.8% in the circumflex arteries. The segment beneath the myocardial bridge was always free of coronary wall plaques, but the arterial segment proximal to it had significant coronary wall plaques in 24 cases (68.6%). We found that the incidence of myocardial bridging in asymptomatic adults is 7%, which is in agreement with some pathologic studies in the literature. Our study shows that MDCT of the coronary arteries is a reliable and noninvasive technique, which can accurately locate the site of myocardial bridging, and measure its thickness, course, and length.

A technical report on structural evaluation of the Meade County reinforced concrete bridge.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

This is a technical report on the first phase of the evaluation of the Meade County reinforced concrete bridge. : The first three chapters introduce the main problem and provide a general review of the existing evaluation : methods and the procedures...

Attachment-related mental representations: introduction to the special issue.

PubMed

Thompson, Ross A

2008-12-01

Bowlby's concept of mental working models of self, attachment figures, and the social world has been theoretically generative as a bridge between early relational experience and the beliefs and expectations that color later relationships. Contemporary attachment researchers, following his example, are applying new knowledge of children's conceptual development to their study of attachment-related mental representations in children and adults. The contributors to this special issue highlight recent advances in how the mental representations arising from attachment security should be conceptualized and studied, and identify a number of important directions for future work. This paper introduces the special issue by summarizing the major ideas of Bowlby and his followers concerning the nature and development of mental working models, points of theoretical clarity and uncertainty, and challenges in assessing these representations, as well as profiling each of the contributions to this issue.

Nondestructive evaluation of four sister bridges in Virginia using manual NDE technologies and robotic platform RABIT : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-07-01

Understanding the factors that influence the performance of a bridge is a very important topic and due to the : complexity of bridges, this is rather a hard task because there are multiple factors, which can influence the : performance of a bridge. T...

Railing systems for use on timber deck bridges

Treesearch

Ronald K. Faller; Michael A. Ritter; Barry T. Rosson; Sheila R. Duwadi

1999-01-01

Bridge railing systems in the United States have historically been designed based on static load criteria given in the AASHTO Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges. In the past decade, full-scale vehicle crash testing has been recognized as a more appropriate and reliable method of evaluating bridge railing acceptability. In 1989. AASHTO published the Guide...

Simplified Analytical Model of a Covered Burr-Arch-Truss Timber Bridge

Treesearch

F. Fanous; D. Rammer; T. Wipf

2013-01-01

Due to the importance of historical timber covered bridges throughout history, their preservation is necessary. However, conducting an accurate structural evaluation of these types of bridges has always caused difficulties to bridge engineers. This paper summarizes an investigation that was sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration and the USDA Forest Products...

Colorado statewide historic bridge inventory.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-05-01

The purpose of the Colorado statewide historic bridge inventory was to document and evaluate the National : Register of Historic Places eligibility all on-system highway bridges and grade separation structures built in : Colorado between 1959 and 196...

Evaluation of an automated bridge anti-icing system [poster].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-01-01

Bridges and adjacent highways experience different environmental conditions. Depending on bridge : height, wind direction and other parameters, pavements are subject to moisture and quick changes in : temperature. Without the benefit of residual grou...

Determination of bridge response using acceleration data.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-01-01

Knowledge of the actual displacement response of a bridge subjected to random traffic loading is useful in evaluating bridge performance and serviceability. However, mounting displacement transducers is difficult, and the feasibility of and cost asso...

Evaluation of Virginia's first heated bridge.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-12-01

This study is a contribution to the Heated Bridge Technology Program established in 1991 under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. The goal of the program was to find durable and environmentally friendly heated bridge technologies f...

Seismic fragility analysis of typical pre-1990 bridges due to near- and far-field ground motions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mosleh, Araliya; Razzaghi, Mehran S.; Jara, José; Varum, Humberto

2016-03-01

Bridge damages during the past earthquakes caused several physical and economic impacts to transportation systems. Many of the existing bridges in earthquake prone areas are pre-1990 bridges and were designed with out of date regulation codes. The occurrences of strong motions in different parts of the world show every year the vulnerability of these structures. Nonlinear dynamic time history analyses were conducted to assess the seismic vulnerability of typical pre-1990 bridges. A family of existing concrete bridge representative of the most common bridges in the highway system in Iran is studied. The seismic demand consists in a set of far-field and near-field strong motions to evaluate the likelihood of exceeding the seismic capacity of the mentioned bridges. The peak ground accelerations (PGAs) were scaled and applied incrementally to the 3D models to evaluate the seismic performance of the bridges. The superstructure was assumed to remain elastic and the nonlinear behavior in piers was modeled by assigning plastic hinges in columns. In this study the displacement ductility and the PGA are selected as a seismic performance indicator and intensity measure, respectively. The results show that pre-1990 bridges subjected to near-fault ground motions reach minor and moderate damage states.

MASH TL-4 evaluation of the TxDOT type C2P bridge rail.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-02-01

The objective of this research was to evaluate the impact performance of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Type C2P Bridge Rail according to the safety-performance evaluation guidelines included in the American Association of State Highw...

Evaluation of bridge deck delamination investigation methods

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-07-01

An objective view of the relative advantages and limitations of the nondestructive, testing and evaluation methods that currently used in the inspection of bridge decks is presented and discussed. The three main nondestructive testing technologies th...

Nondestructive evaluation of MoDOT bridge decks : pilot study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

This research has examined the use of nondestructive techniques for concrete bridge deck condition : assessments. The primary nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) technique utilized in this research : was ground-coupled ground penetrating rada...

Nondestructive evaluation of MoDOT bridge decks : pilot study.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

This research has examined the use of nondestructive techniques for concrete bridge deck condition assessments. The primary nondestructive : testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) technique utilized in this research was ground-coupled ground penetrating radar ...

ESBRI: a web server for evaluating salt bridges in proteins.

PubMed

Costantini, Susan; Colonna, Giovanni; Facchiano, Angelo M

2008-01-01

Salt bridges can play important roles in protein structure and function and have stabilizing and destabilizing effects in protein folding. ESBRI is a software available as web tool which analyses the salt bridges in a protein structure, starting from the atomic coordinates. In the case of protein complexes, the salt bridges between protein chains can be evaluated, as well as those among specific charged amino acids and the different protein subunits, in order to obtain useful information regard the protein-protein interaction. The service is available at the URL: http://bioinformatica.isa.cnr.it/ESBRI/

Evaluating Naturally Durable Wood Species for Repair and Rehabilitation of Above-Ground Components of Covered Bridges

Treesearch

Grant T. Kirker; Carol A. Clausen; A. B Blodgett; Stan T. Lebow

2013-01-01

More than 1,500 covered bridges remain in the United States. They are a unique part of our history; thus, replacement of bridge components is an equally important part of preserving this uncommon style of craftsmanship. The goal of this project was to evaluate seven wood species for their durability in above-ground field exposure. Chemical analysis was also conducted...

Evaluation of the environmental impact of bridge deck runoff.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-12-01

Bridges are located in very close proximity to receiving waters, and regulatory agencies often require specific stormwater : control measures for bridge deck runoff. While there is some information available on roadway runoff, few studies have : focu...

A study of accidents involving highway bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1971-01-01

Accident reports, field evaluations, state police and highway engineer questionnaire replies, and other data sources were used to conduct a general study of accidents involving highway bridges in Virginia. The bridges included in the study were divid...

Q-Bridge environmental impact statement : executive summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-04-01

This Executive Summary provides a brief overview of the Final Environmental Impact Statement/Section 4(f) Evaluation (FEIS) for Interstate 95 (I-95) - Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge (Q-Bridge) Crossing New Haven Harbor Study. The information presented ...

C6 –C8 Bridged Epothilones: Consequences of Installing a Conformational Lock at the Edge of the Macrocycle

PubMed Central

Jiang, Yi; Banerjee, Abhijit; Brodie, Peggy J.; Bane, Susan; Kingston, David G. I.; Liotta, Dennis C.

2011-01-01

A series of conformationally restrained epothilone analogs with a short bridge between the methyl groups at C6 and C8 was designed to mimic the binding pose assigned to our recently reported EpoA-microtubule binding model. A versatile synthetic route to these bridged epothilone analogs has been successfully devised and implemented. Biological evaluation of the compounds against A2780 human ovarian cancer and PC3 prostate cancer cell lines suggested that the introduction of a bridge between C6-C8 reduced potency by 25–1000 fold in comparison with natural epothilone D. Tubulin assembly measurements indicate these bridged epothilone analogs to be mildly active, but without significant microtubule stabilization capacity. Molecular mechanics and DFT energy evaluations suggest the mild activity of the bridged epo-analogs may be due to internal conformational strain. PMID:22127984

On the Validity of Educational Evaluation and Its Construction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Xiaoping; Hu, Zhongfeng

2015-01-01

The main problem of the educational evaluation validity is that it just copies the conceptual framework system of validity from educational measurement to its own conceptual system. The validity conceptual system that fits the need of theory and practice of educational evaluation has not been established yet. According to the inherent attributive…

Neuropsychiatry. An old discipline in a new gestalt bridging biological psychiatry, neuropsychology, and cognitive neurology.

PubMed

Northoff, Georg

2008-06-01

The recent developments of psychiatry getting better insight into the biological basis of psychiatric disorders questions the old division between psychiatry and neurology. The present paper focus on the concept of neuropsychiatry, its historical antecedents and closely associated disciplines like biological psychiatry, behavioral neurology and neuropsychology. A special emphasis is put on the question of function and localization; the suggestions are made that the concept of neuronal integration may bridge the often discussed gap between localization and holism in the relation between function and brain regions. Examples of different mechanisms of neuronal integration are discussed and applied to specific neuropsychiatric disorders. It is concluded that the concept of neuronal integration may offer an appropriate conceptual tool to establish the concept of neuropsychiatry in a new and meaningful gestalt at the interface between biological psychiatry, neuropsychology and cognitive neurology.

Strategies for Developing Family Nursing Communities of Practice Through Social Media.

PubMed

Isaacson, Kris; Looman, Wendy S

2017-02-01

This discussion article presents communities of practice (CoPs) and bridging social capital as conceptual frameworks to demonstrate how social media can be leveraged for family nursing knowledge, scholarship, and practice. CoPs require a shared domain of interest, exchange of resources, and dedication to expanding group knowledge. Used strategically and with a professional presence, mainstream social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube can support the family nurse in developing and contributing to CoPs related to family nursing. This article presents four strategies-curate, connect, collaborate, and contribute-for establishing and growing a social media presence that fits one's professional goals and time availability. Family nurses who leverage social media using these strategies can strengthen existing CoPs and at the same time bridge networks to reach new audiences, such as family advocacy groups, policy makers, educators, practitioners, and a wide array of other extended networks.

Wise Additions Bridge the Gap between Social Psychology and Clinical Practice: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy as an Exemplar

PubMed Central

Folk, Johanna B.; Disabato, David J.; Goodman, Fallon R.; Carter, Sarah P.; DiMauro, Jennifer C.; Riskind, John H.

2017-01-01

Progress in clinical science, theory, and practice requires the integration of advances from multiple fields of psychology, but much integration remains to be done. The current article seeks to address the specific gap that exists between basic social psychological theories and the implementation of related therapeutic techniques. We propose several “wise additions,” based upon the principles outlined by Walton (2014), intended to bridge current social psychological research with clinical psychological therapeutic practice using cognitive behavioral therapy as an example. We consider how recent advances in social psychological theories can inform the development and implementation of wise additions in clinical case conceptualization and interventions. We specifically focus on self and identity, self-affirmation, transference, social identity, and embodied cognition, five dominant areas of interest in the field that have clear clinical applications. PMID:28919701

Learners' strategies for reconstructing cognitive frameworks and navigating conceptual change from prior conception to consensual genetics knowledge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parrott, Annette M.

Problem. Science teachers are charged with preparing students to become scientifically literate individuals. Teachers are given curriculum that specifies the knowledge that students should come away with; however, they are not necessarily aware of the knowledge with which the student arrives or how best to help them navigate between the two knowledge states. Educators must be aware, not only of where their students are conceptually, but how their students move from their prior knowledge and naive theories, to scientifically acceptable theories. The understanding of how students navigate this course has the potential to revolutionize educational practices. Methods. This study explored how five 9th grade biology students reconstructed their cognitive frameworks and navigated conceptual change from prior conception to consensual genetics knowledge. The research questions investigated were: (1) how do students in the process of changing their naive science theories to accepted science theories describe their journey from prior knowledge to current conception, and (2) what are the methods that students utilize to bridge the gap between alternate and consensual science conceptions to effect conceptual change. Qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to gather and analyze the data. In depth, semi-structured interviews formed the primary data for probing the context and details of students' conceptual change experience. Primary interview data was coded by thematic analysis. Results and discussion. This study revealed information about students' perceived roles in learning, the role of articulation in the conceptual change process, and ways in which a community of learners aids conceptual change. It was ascertained that students see their role in learning primarily as repeating information until they could add that information to their knowledge. Students are more likely to consider challenges to their conceptual frameworks and be more motivated to become active participants in constructing their knowledge when they are working collaboratively with peers instead of receiving instruction from their teacher. Articulation was found to be instrumental in aiding learners in identifying their alternate conceptions as well as in revisiting, investigating and reconstructing their conceptual frameworks. Based on the assumptions generated, suggestions were offered to inform pedagogical practice in support of the conceptual change process.

Evaluation of bridge decks using non-destructive evaluation (NDE) at near highway speeds for effective asset management.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-06-01

Remote sensing technologies allow for the condition evaluation of bridge decks at near highway speed. : Data collection at near highway speed for assessment of the top of the concrete deck and proof of : concept testing for the underside of the deck ...

Condition assessment and determination of methods for evaluating corrosion damage in piles encapsulated in protective jackets on the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-04-01

The primary purpose of this study was to assess the condition of piles that had been encapsulated in fiberglass and mortar jackets on four bridges that are part of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT). Since these four bridges contain a total of ap...

Live-load performance evaluation of historic covered timber bridges in the United States

Treesearch

Junwon Seo; Travis K. Hosteng; Brent M. Phares; James P. Wacker

2015-01-01

The National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program (NHCBP), sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), was established to preserve the covered timber bridge structures that were constructed in the early 1800s. Today, many of the approximately 880 covered timber bridges still in existence in the United States are closed to vehicular traffic;...

Plans for crash-tested bridge railings for longitudinal wood decks

Treesearch

M. A. Ritter; R. K. Faller; P. D. Hilbrich Lee; B. T. Rosson; S. R. Duwadi

1995-01-01

In the past decade, bridge railing design criteria have moved away from static-load design and have focused on full-scale crash testing as a more appropriate and reliable means of evaluating bridge railings. The five bridge railing plans presented reflect the results of a cooperative research project between the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility, University of Nebraska...

United States Census 2000 Population with Bridged Race Categories. Vital and Health Statistics. Data Evaluation and Methods Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingram, Deborah D.; Parker, Jennifer D.; Schenker, Nathaniel; Weed, James A.; Hamilton, Brady; Arias, Elizabeth; Madans, Jennifer H.

This report documents the National Center for Health Statistics' (NCHS) methods for bridging the Census 2000 multiple-race resident population to single-race categories and describing bridged race resident population estimates. Data came from the pooled 1997-2000 National Health Interview Surveys. The bridging models included demographic and…

Evaluation of fleet management techniques for timber highway bridges

Treesearch

Brent M. Phares; Travis K. Hosteng; Justin Dahlberg; Michael A. Ritter

2011-01-01

The general condition of the nation's bridges presents a complex management issue when considering cost, safety, and time. Consequently, the management of those bridges can become an overwhelming task. The need for a management system that is specific to rural systems may help to improve the management of this significant number of bridges. Although individual...

Evaluation of performance based concrete for bridge decks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-06-01

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) revised the concrete : specification for bridge decks in 2011 to be more performance based with the desired effect of : having less early-age shrinkage cracking. This report evaluates a sample...

Evaluation of the composite wing girder bridge at Bear Creek.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1984-11-01

This report documents the construction monitoring and subsequent field testing : to evaluate the performance of an innovative nloose-fit" composite post-tensioned : concrete wing girder bridge constructed over Bear Creek, south of Austin, Texas. : Th...

Nondestructive Evaluation of Steel Bridges: Methods and Applications

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-12-01

Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods can be used to assess in-service steel bridges for problematic conditions caused by factors such as design, manufacturing, fabrication, and the service effects of traffic and corrosion. This report discusses ty...

NDT evaluation of long-term bond durability of CFRP-structural systems applied to RC highway bridges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crawford, Kenneth C.

2016-06-01

The long-term durability of CFRP structural systems applied to reinforced-concrete (RC) highway bridges is a function of the system bond behavior over time. The sustained structural load performance of strengthened bridges depends on the carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates remaining 100 % bonded to concrete bridge members. Periodic testing of the CFRP-concrete bond condition is necessary to sustain load performance. The objective of this paper is to present a non-destructive testing (NDT) method designed to evaluate the bond condition and long-term durability of CFRP laminate (plate) systems applied to RC highway bridges. Using the impact-echo principle, a mobile mechanical device using light impact hammers moving along the length of a bonded CFRP plate produces unique acoustic frequencies which are a function of existing CFRP plate-concrete bond conditions. The purpose of this method is to test and locate CFRP plates de-bonded from bridge structural members to identify associated deterioration in bridge load performance. Laboratory tests of this NDT device on a CFRP plate bonded to concrete with staged voids (de-laminations) produced different frequencies for bonded and de-bonded areas of the plate. The spectra (bands) of frequencies obtained in these tests show a correlation to the CFRP-concrete bond condition and identify bonded and de-bonded areas of the plate. The results of these tests indicate that this NDT impact machine, with design improvements, can potentially provide bridge engineers a means to rapidly evaluate long lengths of CFRP laminates applied to multiple highway bridges within a national transportation infrastructure.

Rectified tunneling current response of bio-functionalized metal-bridge-metal junctions.

PubMed

Liu, Yaqing; Offenhäusser, Andreas; Mayer, Dirk

2010-01-15

Biomolecular bridged nanostructures allow direct electrical addressing of electroactive biomolecules, which is of interest for the development of bioelectronic and biosensing hybrid junctions. In the present paper, the electroactive biomolecule microperoxidase-11 (MP-11) was integrated into metal-bridge-metal (MBM) junctions assembled from a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) setup. Before immobilization of MP-11, the Au working electrode was first modified by a self-assembled monolayer of 1-undecanethiol (UDT). A symmetric and potential independent response of current-bias voltage (I(t)/V(b)) was observed for the Au (substrate)/UDT/Au (tip) junction. However, the I(t)/V(b) characteristics became potential dependent and asymmetrical after binding of MP-11 between the electrodes of the junction. The rectification ratio of the asymmetric current response varies with gate electrode modulation. A resonant tunneling process between metal electrode and MP-11 enhances the tunneling current and is responsible for the observed rectification. Our investigations demonstrated that functional building blocks of proteins can be reassembled into new conceptual devices with operation modes deviating from their native function, which could prove highly useful in the design of future biosensors and bioelectronic devices. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Styrene-butadiene latex modifiers for bridge deck overlay concrete.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1978-04-01

Styrene-butadiene (S/B) latex modified concrete overlays are being used to protect : new bridge decks from rapid deicer-borne chloride intrusion and also in bridge : deck rehabilitation efforts. The purposes of this research were to evaluate several ...

Feasibility study for detection and quantification of corrosion in bridge barrier rails.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-04-01

Technical challenges exist with infrastructure that can be addressed by nondestructive evaluation (NDE) methods, such as detecting corrosion damage to reinforcing steel that anchor concrete bridge railings to bridge road decks. Moisture and chloride ...

Comprehensive bridge deck deterioration mapping of nine bridges by nondestructive evaluation technologies.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

The primary objective of this research was to demonstrate the benefits of NDT technologies for effectively detecting : and characterizing deterioration in bridge decks. In particular, the objectives were to demonstrate the capabilities of : ground-pe...

Evaluation of FRP repair method for cracked bridge members.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-01-01

This research program was undertaken to investigate the effects Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) have on the shear strength on under-reinforced, lab-scale prestressed concrete (PC) bridge girders. Many bridges in the states of Missouri and Kan...

Effects of temperature on bridge dynamic properties : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-12-01

Structural health monitoring (SHM) using ambient vibration has become a valuable tool in : evaluating and assessing the condition of civil structures. For bridge structures, a vibrationbased : SHM system uses the dynamic response of a bridge to measu...

Instrumentation of the Red River Bridge at Boyce, Louisiana : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1991-01-01

The report describes the instrumentation program of Red River Bridge at Boyce, Louisiana. The objectives of the program were to measure and evaluate time-dependent deformations, deflections, and temperatures of the Red River Bridge superstructure. To...

Instrumentation of the Red River Bridge at Boyce, Louisiana : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1988-08-01

The report describes the instrumentation program of Red River Bridge at Boyce, Louisiana. The objectives of the program were to measure and evaluate time-dependent deformations, deflections, and temperatures of the Red River Bridge superstructure. To...

Bridge scour countermeasure assessments at select bridges in the United States, 2014–16

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dudunake, Taylor J.; Huizinga, Richard J.; Fosness, Ryan L.

2017-05-23

In 2009, the Federal Highway Administration published Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 23 (HEC-23) to provide specific design and implementation guidelines for bridge scour and stream instability countermeasures. However, the effectiveness of countermeasures implemented over the past decade following those guidelines has not been evaluated. Therefore, in 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, began a study to assess the current condition of bridge-scour countermeasures at selected sites to evaluate their effectiveness. Bridge-scour countermeasures were assessed during 2014-2016. Site assessments included reviewing countermeasure design plans, summarizing the peak and daily streamflow history, and assessments at each site. Each site survey included a photo log summary, field form, and topographic and bathymetric geospatial data and metadata. This report documents the study area and site-selection criteria, explains the survey methods used to evaluate the condition of countermeasures, and presents the complete documentation for each countermeasure assessment.

Collecting and validating experiential expertise is doable but poses methodological challenges.

PubMed

Burda, Marika H F; van den Akker, Marjan; van der Horst, Frans; Lemmens, Paul; Knottnerus, J André

2016-04-01

To give an overview of important methodological challenges in collecting, validating, and further processing experiential expertise and how to address these challenges. Based on our own experiences in studying the concept, operationalization, and contents of experiential expertise, we have formulated methodological issues regarding the inventory and application of experiential expertise. The methodological challenges can be categorized in six developmental research stages, comprising the conceptualization of experiential expertise, methods to harvest experiential expertise, the validation of experiential expertise, evaluation of the effectiveness, how to translate experiential expertise into acceptable guidelines, and how to implement these. The description of methodological challenges and ways to handle those are illustrated using diabetes mellitus as an example. Experiential expertise can be defined and operationalized in terms of successful illness-related behaviors and translated into recommendations regarding life domains. Pathways have been identified to bridge the gaps between the world of patients' daily lives and the medical world. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bridging international relations and disaster studies: the case of disaster-conflict scholarship.

PubMed

Hollis, Simon

2018-01-01

International relations and disaster studies have much to gain by thinking critically about their respective theoretical and epistemological assumptions. Yet, few studies to date have sought to assess the potential value of linking these two disciplines. This paper begins to address this shortfall by examining the relationship between disasters and conflict as a research sphere that intersects international relations and disaster studies. Through an analysis of whether or not disasters contribute to intra-national and international conflict, this paper not only provides a review of the state of the art, but also serves to invite scholars to reflect on related concepts from other fields to strengthen their own approaches to the study of disasters in an international setting. An evaluation of the conceptual and theoretical contributions of each subject area provides useful heuristics for the development of disaster-conflict scholarship and encourages alternative modes of knowledge production through interdisciplinarity. © 2018 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2018.

Evaluating scour at bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1995-11-01

This document is the third of HEC 18, i.e., presents the state of knowledge and practice for the design, : evaluation, and inspection of bridges for scour. It contains updated material not included in the second : edition dated April 1993. This docum...

CAESAR : an expert system for evaluation of scour and stream stability

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-01-01

This report documents the development and testing of a field-deployable, knowledge-based decision support system that assists bridge inspectors by acquiring, cataloging, storing, and retrieving information necessary for the evaluation of a bridge for...

Development and performance evaluation of fiber reinforced polymer bridge.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

Fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) have become more popular construction materials in the last decade due to the reduction of : material costs. The installation and performance evaluation of the first FRP-wrapped balsa wood bridge in Louisiana is descri...

Nondestructive evaluation of fiber reinforced polymer bridges and decks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-10-01

The research described herein involved both nondestructive evaluation and destructive testing of an FRP honeycomb specimen. The specimen is representative of an FRP bridge that is to be constructed in Troupsburg, New York. The specimen was tested in ...

Field evaluations of waterproof membrane systems for bridge decks, 1972-1974.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1975-01-01

Waterproof membrane systems are being studied by many agencies from the standpoint of their effectiveness in protecting the reinforcing steel in concrete bridge decks against corrosion. Trial applications and evaluations of six such systems, includin...

Evaluation of Stainless Steel Reinforcement in Bridge Decks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-10-01

This report is a follow up and final report to the report on the Evaluation of Stainless Steel Reinforcement, Construction Report. RDT 03 003. The results of interim testing during the bridges first five years are reported for Missouris...

Evaluation of Repair Techniques for Impact-Damaged Prestressed Beams

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2018-05-01

Collisions between over-height vehicles and bridges occur about 1,000 times per year in the United States. Collision damage to bridges can range from minor to catastrophic, potentially requiring repair or replacement of a bridge beam. For prestressed...

Analytical and experimental evaluation of an aluminum bridge deck panel. Part 2, failure analysis.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-01-01

Aluminum bridge decks may prove to be an alternative to concrete decks for improving the performance of structural bridge systems. Combining excellent corrosion resistance with extremely low density, aluminum decks can prolong surface life, facilitat...

Evaluation of automated bridge deck anti-icing system

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-12-01

Driving in snow and ice can be dangerous. This is especially true on bridges. Under certain cold weather conditions, moisture on bridge decks freeze because of the open air flow under them while the adjacent roadway is unaffected. This creates potent...

Theoretical and field experimental evaluation of skewed modular slab bridges : [research summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-12-01

Adjacent precast, prestressed concrete multi-beam bridges have become more : prevalent due to their rapid construction time and cost effectiveness. Over the : years, various adjustments and refinements have been made to the design of : these bridges ...

Field test and finite element of I-345 bridge in Dallas.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-07-01

This report documents a field test to determine the stresses at areas where fatigue cracks had formed in the : bridges. Two bridges were instrumented and subjected to controlled truck traffic. In addition, the service fatigue : stresses were evaluate...

Instrumentation and computational modeling for evaluation of bridges substructures across waterways.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-12-01

This State Study 229 was proposed as the Phase I study for implementing sensing technologies and computational analysis to assess bridge conditions and support decision-making for bridge maintenance in Mississippi. The objectives of the study are to:...

Precast concrete replacement slabs for bridge decks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1982-01-01

The report illustrates and evaluates the first use in Virginia of precast concrete replacement slabs for bridge decks. It shows that a bridge deck can be replaced with the precast slabs while traffic is maintained in the adjacent traffic lane. The qu...

Improved load rating of reinforced concrete slab bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2007-09-01

In New Mexico, many reinforced concrete slab (RCS) bridges provide service on interstates I-10, I-25, and I-40. An accurate strength evaluation of interstate bridges is essential to avoid unnecessary load restrictions. The AASHTO load rating factor f...

Development and performance evaluation of fiber reinforced polymer bridge : [technical summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-03-01

Conventionally, highway bridge decks in the US are predominantly made of steel-reinforced concrete. However, repair and : maintenance costs of these bridges incurred at the federal and state levels are overwhelming. As a result, for many years, there...

Low Vertical Clearance Truss Bridges : Risk Assessment and Retrofit Mitigation Study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-11-10

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has over 60 steel truss bridges in its inventory with vertical clearances less than the minimum 16-6 required for new bridges. This study evaluates the risks of oversized vehicle impacts...

Measurement-based evaluation of noncomposite steel girder bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-02-01

The results from an experimental study into the behavior of noncomposite slab-on-steel girder bridges are presented. Two bridge : units were tested under increasing static loads beyond first yield of the girders with a flatbed trailer loaded with con...

Efficient field testing for load rating railroad bridges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulz, Jeffrey L.; Brett C., Commander

1995-06-01

As the condition of our infrastructure continues to deteriorate, and the loads carried by our bridges continue to increase, an ever growing number of railroad and highway bridges require load limits. With safety and transportation costs at both ends of the spectrum. the need for accurate load rating is paramount. This paper describes a method that has been developed for efficient load testing and evaluation of short- and medium-span bridges. Through the use of a specially-designed structural testing system and efficient load test procedures, a typical bridge can be instrumented and tested at 64 points in less than one working day and with minimum impact on rail traffic. Various techniques are available to evaluate structural properties and obtain a realistic model. With field data, a simple finite element model is 'calibrated' and its accuracy is verified. Appropriate design and rating loads are applied to the resulting model and stress predictions are made. This technique has been performed on numerous structures to address specific problems and to provide accurate load ratings. The merits and limitations of this approach are discussed in the context of actual examples of both rail and highway bridges that were tested and evaluated.

Species Identification and Design Value Estimation of Wooden Members in Covered Bridges

Treesearch

Alex C. Wiedenhoeft; David E. Kretschmann

2014-01-01

Covered timber bridges are historic structures with unique aesthetic value. To preserve this value and maintain bridges in service, robust evaluation of their performance and safety is necessary. The strength of the timber found in covered bridges can vary considerably, not only because of age and condition, but also because of species and grade. For the practicing...

Estimating bridge stiffness using a forced-vibration technique for timber bridge health monitoring

Treesearch

James P. Wacker; Xiping Wang; Brian Brashaw; Robert J. Ross

2006-01-01

This paper describes an effort to refine a global dynamic testing technique for evaluating the overall stiffness of timber bridge superstructures. A forced vibration method was used to measure the frequency response of several simple-span, sawn timber beam (with plank deck) bridges located in St. Louis County, Minnesota. Static load deflections were also measured to...

76 FR 72423 - Bridging the Idea Development Evaluation Assessment and Long-Term Initiative and Total Product...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-11-23

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Food and Drug Administration [Docket No. FDA-2011-N-0780] Bridging the Idea Development Evaluation Assessment and Long-Term Initiative and Total Product Life Cycle... Idea Development Evaluation Assessment and Long-Term Initiative and Total Product Life Cycle Approaches...

Evaluation of pier-scour measurement methods and pier-scour predictions with observed scour measurements at selected bridge sites in New Hampshire, 1995-98

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-11-01

In a previous study, 44 of 48 bridge sites examined in New Hampshire were categorized as scour critical. This report summarizes research conducted to evaluate pier-scour measurement methods and predictions at many of these sites. This evaluation incl...

Theory's role in shaping behavioral health research for population health.

PubMed

King, Abby C

2015-11-26

The careful application of theory often is used in the behavioral health field to enhance our understanding of how the world currently works. But theory also can help us visualize what the world can become, particularly through its potential impacts on population-wide health. Applying a multi-level ecological perspective can help in expanding the field's focus upward toward the population at large. While ecological frameworks have become increasingly popular, arguably such perspectives have fallen short of their potential to actively bridge conceptual constructs and, by extension, intervention approaches, across different levels of population impact. Theoretical and conceptual perspectives that explicitly span levels of impact offer arguably the greatest potential for achieving scientific insights that may in turn produce the largest population health effects. Examples of such "bridging" approaches include theories and models that span behavioral + micro-environment, behavioral + social/cultural, and social + physical environment constructs. Several recommendations are presented related to opportunities for leveraging theories to attain the greatest impact in the population health science field. These include applying the evidence obtained from person-level theories to inform methods for positively impacting the behaviors of community gatekeepers and decision-makers for greater population change and reach; leveraging the potential of residents as "citizen scientists"--a resource for enacting behavioral health changes at the individual, environmental, and policy levels; using empirical observations and theory in equal parts to build more robust, relevant, and solution-oriented behavior change programs; exploring moderators and mediators of change at levels of impact that go beyond the individual; and considering the circumstances in which applying conceptual methods that embrace a "complexity" as opposed to "causality" perspective may lead to more flexible and agile scientific approaches that could accelerate both population-relevant discoveries and applications in the field. The commentary closes with suggestions concerning additional areas to be considered to facilitate continued advances in the health behavior field more generally to attain the greatest impacts on population health.

Conceptual issues in neuroscientific research on empathy.

PubMed

Glas, Gerrit

2018-06-11

This paper gives an analysis of some conceptual issues in the neuroscientific study of empathy. The focus will almost exclusively be on a seminal paper by Decety and Jackson (2004) on the functional architecture of empathy. The authors withstand reductionistic tendencies in the exposition of what their findings might mean for the psychology of social cognition. They are aware of the thorny conceptual issues that arise when attempting to bridge intuitive folk psychological conceptions of empathy with explanations offered by social psychology, developmental science, and, most of all, neuroscience. They defend a conception which puts emphasis on the developmental, interactional and human aspects of empathy. In the second part of the paper we will see that this overt contention is at some points at odds with the conceptual framework that underlies the presentation of scientific findings. It will appear that the method of decomposition, i.e., breaking empathy down into (mutually interacting) 'pieces', is difficult to reconcile with the idea that empathy should primarily be defined as an interactional phenomenon. The method of decomposition puts empathy back within the brain, whereas recent philosophical work argues that empathy needs a definition which includes both processes in the empathizing subject and in the person with whom the subject empathizes. In the final part of the paper it is asked whether, how and to what extent it does matter that professionals know about the social neuroscience of empathy and, especially, its underlying conceptual framework. It is argued that conceptual innovations that currently are emerging in social neuroscience do matter for clinical and legal practices. In spite of the limitations mentioned earlier, Decety & Jackson's developmental and interactional approach helps to overcome reductionistic and mentalistic interpretations of human empathy. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Hanson Russian River Ponds floodplain restoration: Feasibility study and conceptual design; Appendix G: Physical evaluation of the restoration alternatives

USGS Publications Warehouse

McDonald, Richard R.; Nelson, Jonathan M.

2016-01-01

Appendix G: Hanson Russian River Ponds Floodplain Restoration: Feasibility Study and Conceptual Design |G-1Appendix GPhysical Evaluation of the Restoration AlternativesRichard McDonald and Jonathan Nelson, PhDU.S. Geological Survey Geomorphology and Sediment Transport Laboratory, Golden, ColoradoIntroductionTo assess the relative and overall impacts of the scenarios proposed in Chapters 7 and 9,(Stage I-A–I-D and Stage II-A –II-E), each of the topographic configurations were evaluated over a range of flows. Thisevaluation was carried out using computational flow modeling tools available in the iRIC public-domain river modeling interface (www.i-ric.org, Nelsonet al.in press). Using the iRIC modeling tools described in more detail below, basic hydraulic computations of water-surface elevation, velocity, shear stress, and other hydraulic variables were carried out for the alternatives in the reach surrounding the project area, from the confluence of Dry Creek upstream to the Wohler road bridge downstream, for the full range of observed flows. This methodology allows comparison of the current channel configuration with the proposed alternatives in terms of inundation period and frequency, depth, water velocity, and other hydraulic information. By integrating this kind of information over the reach of interest and the flow record, critical metrics assessing the impacts of various topographic modifications can be compared to those same metrics for the existing condition or other modification scenarios. In addition, because the iRIC tools include predictions of sediment mobility, suspension of fines, and the potential evolution of the land surface in response to flow, these methods provide evaluation of sediment transport, stability of current and proposed surfaces, and evaluation of how these surfaces might evolve into the future. This hydraulic and sediment transport information is critically important for understanding theimpacts of various proposed alternatives on the physical system; perhaps even more importantly given the objectives of the proposed restoration, this information can be related to biological impacts, as is discussed in subsequent chapters of this document.

Evaluation of thin overlays for bridge decks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-11-01

Eight thin polymer overlay systems were evaluated in the laboratory and on two bridge decks exposed to trucks and passenger vehicles including those with studded tires. The products were Mark 154, Flex-O-Lith, Safetrack HW, Kwik Bond PPC MLS, Tyregri...

BTC method for evaluation of remaining strength and service life of bridge cables.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-09-01

"This report presents the BTC method; a comprehensive state-of-the-art methodology for evaluation of remaining : strength and residual life of bridge cables. The BTC method is a probability-based, proprietary, patented, and peerreviewed : methodology...

Evaluation of bent caps in reinforced concrete deck girder bridges : part 2.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-09-01

This report describes research conducted to enable evaluation of existing vintage bent cap beams in reinforced concrete : deck girder bridges. The report is organized into two parts: 1) flexural anchorage capacity response and prediction of : reduced...

Evaluation of bent caps in reinforced concrete deck girder bridges : part 1.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-09-01

This report describes research conducted to enable evaluation of existing vintage bent cap beams in reinforced concrete : deck girder bridges. The report is organized into two parts: 1) flexural anchorage capacity response and prediction of : reduced...

A critical evaluation of bridge scour for Michigan specific conditions

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-02-01

The overall goal of this research was to improve MDOTs bridge scour prediction capability. In : an effort to achieve this goal, the research team evaluated scour prediction methods utilized by : state DOTs, conducted a field data collection project, ...

Application of electromagnetic-acoustic transducers for nondestructive testing in steel bridge structures.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-01-01

This report presents the results of a study to (1) assess the applicability of electromagnetic-acoustic transducers for nondestructive evaluation of stresses in bridge structures and (2) evaluate the new ultrasonic instruments as an effective techniq...

Air-launched GPR evaluation for rapid assessment of MoDOT bridge decks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-08-01

The overarching goal of this study is to demonstrate that advanced nondestructive testing/evaluation (NDT/NDE) techniques can be rapidly, effectively, and economically implemented as part of routine MoDOT bridge deck surveys to determine the general ...

Evaluation of thin overlays for bridge decks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-11-01

Eight thin polymer overlay systems were evaluated in the laboratory and on two bridge decks exposed to trucks and passenger vehicles including those with studded tires. The products were Mark 154, Flex-O-Lith, Safetrack HW, Kwik Bond PPC MLS, Tyregri...

Tidal Energy Conversion Installation at an Estuarine Bridge Site: Resource Evaluation and Energy Production Estimate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wosnik, M.; Gagnon, I.; Baldwin, K.; Bell, E.

2015-12-01

The "Living Bridge" project aims to create a self-diagnosing, self-reporting "smart bridge" powered by a local renewable energy source, tidal energy - transforming Memorial Bridge, a vertical lift bridge over the tidal Piscataqua River connecting Portsmouth, NH and Kittery, ME, into a living laboratory for researchers, engineers, scientists, and the community. The Living Bridge project includes the installation of a tidal turbine at the Memorial Bridge. The energy converted by the turbine will power structural health monitoring, environmental and underwater instrumentation. Utilizing locally available tidal energy can make bridge operation more sustainable, can "harden" transportation infrastructure against prolonged grid outages and can demonstrate a prototype of an "estuarine bridge of the future". A spatio-temporal tidal energy resource assessment was performed using long term bottom-deployed Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) at two locations: near the planned deployment location in 2013-14 for 123 days and mid-channel in 2007 for 35 days. Data were evaluated to determine the amount of available kinetic energy that can be converted into usable electrical energy on the bridge. Changes in available kinetic energy with ebb/flood and spring/neap tidal cycles and electrical energy demand were analyzed. The target deployment site exhibited significantly more energetic ebb tides than flood tides, which can be explained by the local bathymetry of the tidal estuary. A system model is used to calculate the net energy savings using various tidal generator and battery bank configurations. Different resource evaluation methodologies were also analyzed, e.g., using a representative ADCP "bin" vs. a more refined, turbine-geometry-specific methodology, and using static bin height vs. bin height that move w.r.t. the free surface throughout a tidal cycle (representative of a bottom-fixed or floating turbine deployment, respectively). ADCP operating frequencies and bin sizes affect the standard deviation of measurements, and measurement uncertainties are evaluated. The planned installation, consisting of a vertical axis turbine with the generator above water, mounted to a floating platform, and underwater instrumentation will be outlined. Supported by NSF-IIP 1430260

Assessing potential scour using the South Carolina bridge-scour envelope curves

USGS Publications Warehouse

Benedict, Stephen T.; Feaster, Toby D.; Caldwell, Andral W.

2016-09-30

SummaryBridge-scour equations presented in the Federal Highway Administration Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 18 reflect the current state-of-the practice for predicting scour at bridges. Although these laboratory-derived equations provide an important resource for assessing scour potential, there is a measure of uncertainty when applying these equations to field conditions. The uncertainty and limitations have been acknowledged by laboratory researchers and confirmed in field investigations.Because of the uncertainty associated with bridge-scour equations, HEC-18 recommends that engineers evaluate the computed scour depths obtained from the equations and modify the resulting data if they appear unreasonable. Perhaps the best way to evaluate the reasonableness of predicted scour is to compare it to field measurements of historic scour. Historic field data show scour depths resulting from high flows and provide a reference for evaluating predicted scour. It is rare, however, that such data are available at or near a site of interest, making the evaluation of predicted scour as compared to field data difficult if not impossible. Realizing the value of historic scour measurements, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT), conducted a series of three field investigations to collect historic scour data with the goal of understanding regional trends of scour at riverine bridges in South Carolina.Historic scour measurements, including measurements of clear-water abutment, contraction, and pier scour, as well as live-bed contraction and pier scour, were made at more than 200 bridges. These field investigations provided valuable insights into regional scour trends and yielded regional bridge-scour envelope curves that can be used as supplementary tools for assessing all components of scour at riverine bridges in South Carolina.The application and limitations of these envelope curves were documented in four reports. Because each report addresses different components of bridge scour, it was recognized that there was a need to develop an integrated procedure for applying the envelope curves to help assess scour potential at riverine bridges in South Carolina. The result of that effort is detailed in Benedict and others (2016) and summarized in this fact sheet.

Evaluation of bridge cables corrosion using acoustic emission technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Dongsheng; Ou, Jinping

2010-04-01

Owing to the nature of the stress, corrosion of bridge cable may result in catastrophic failure of the structure. However, using electrochemical techniques isn't fully efficient for the detection and control on line of the corrosion phenomenon. A non-destructive testing method based on acoustic emission technique monitoring bridge cable corrosion was explored. The steel strands were placed at room temperature in 5% NaCl solution. Acoustic emission (AE) characteristic parameters were recorded in the whole corrosion experiment process. Based on the plot of cumulated acoustic activity, the bridge cables corrosion included three stages. It can be clearly seen that different stages have different acoustic emission signal characteristics. The AE characteristic parameters would be increased with cables corrosion development. Finally, the bridge cables corrosion experiment with different stress state and different corrosion environment was performed. The results shows that stress magnitude only affects the bridge cable failure time, however, the AE characteristic parameters value has changed a little. It was verified that AE technique can be used to detect the bridge cable early corrosion, investigating corrosion developing trend, and in monitoring and evaluating corrosion damages.

Evaluating abdominal core muscle fatigue: Assessment of the validity and reliability of the prone bridging test.

PubMed

De Blaiser, C; De Ridder, R; Willems, T; Danneels, L; Vanden Bossche, L; Palmans, T; Roosen, P

2018-02-01

The aims of this study were to research the amplitude and median frequency characteristics of selected abdominal, back, and hip muscles of healthy subjects during a prone bridging endurance test, based on surface electromyography (sEMG), (a) to determine if the prone bridging test is a valid field test to measure abdominal muscle fatigue, and (b) to evaluate if the current method of administrating the prone bridging test is reliable. Thirty healthy subjects participated in this experiment. The sEMG activity of seven abdominal, back, and hip muscles was bilaterally measured. Normalized median frequencies were computed from the EMG power spectra. The prone bridging tests were repeated on separate days to evaluate inter and intratester reliability. Significant differences in normalized median frequency slope (NMF slope ) values between several abdominal, back, and hip muscles could be demonstrated. Moderate-to-high correlation coefficients were shown between NMF slope values and endurance time. Multiple backward linear regression revealed that the test endurance time could only be significantly predicted by the NMF slope of the rectus abdominis. Statistical analysis showed excellent reliability (ICC=0.87-0.89). The findings of this study support the validity and reliability of the prone bridging test for evaluating abdominal muscle fatigue. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Summary and Comparison of Multiphase Streambed Scour Analysis at Selected Bridge Sites in Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Conaway, Jeffrey S.

2004-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities undertook a cooperative multiphase study of streambed scour at selected bridges in Alaska beginning in 1994. Of the 325 bridges analyzed for susceptibility to scour in the preliminary phase, 54 bridges were selected for a more intensive analysis that included site investigations. Cross-section geometry and hydraulic properties for each site in this study were determined from field surveys and bridge plans. Water-surface profiles were calculated for the 100- and 500-year floods using the Hydrologic Engineering Center?s River Analysis System and scour depths were calculated using methods recommended by the Federal Highway Administration. Computed contraction-scour depths for the 100- and 500-year recurrence-interval discharges exceeded 5 feet at six bridges, and pier-scour depths exceeded 10 feet at 24 bridges. Complex pier-scour computations were made at 10 locations where the computed contraction-scour depths would expose pier footings. Pressure scour was evaluated at three bridges where the modeled flood water-surface elevations intersected the bridge structure. Site investigation at the 54 scour-critical bridges was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the preliminary scour analysis. Values for channel-flow angle of attack and approach-channel width were estimated from bridge survey plans for the preliminary study and were measured during a site investigation for this study. These two variables account for changes in scour depths between the preliminary analysis and subsequent reanalysis for most sites. Site investigation is needed for best estimates of scour at bridges with survey plans that indicate a channel-flow angle of attack and for locations where survey plans did not include sufficient channel geometry upstream of the bridge.

Evaluation of concrete bridge mix designs for control of cracking, phase I.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-11-01

Cracking of concrete is a common problem with concrete structures such as bridge decks, pavements and bridge : rail. The Agency of Transportation (VTrans) has recently invested in higher performing concrete mixes that are : more impervious and has hi...

Bridges Structural Health Monitoring and Deterioration Detection Synthesis of Knowledge and Technology

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-09-01

Many U.S. bridges were built during the 1960s. Evaluating the structural condition of these bridges under todays traffic loads and safety expectations is difficult. This project is developing a practical program for structural health monitoring of...

Evaluation of continuity detail for precast prestressed girders : research project capsule.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-03-01

The construction of a new bridge : crossing the Mississippi River north of : Baton Rouge is currently underway. The : project, named the John James : Audubon Bridge, is a true landmark. Its : main span will be the longest cablestayed : bridge in Nort...

Analytical and experimental evaluation of an aluminum bridge deck panel. Part 1, Service load performance.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-01-01

Deck deterioration is responsible for the majority of deficient bridge ratings in the United States (Sotiropoulos & GangaRao, 1993). Subject to dynamic loading, cyclic loading, and occasional overloading, bridge decks are the most severely stressed e...

Performance evaluation of concrete bridge decks reinforced with MMFX and SSC rebars.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-01-01

This report investigates the performance of bridge decks reinforced with stainless steel clad (SSC) and micro-composite multistructural formable steel (MMFX) rebars. The two-span Galloway Road Bridge on route CR5218 over North Elkhorn Creek in Scott ...

Development of a guide for prioritization of railway bridges for repair and replacement.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-09-01

The objective of this study was to develop evaluation bases for the repair, rehabilitation, and replacement of existing : railway bridges. Considering the importance of bridges to the railway network, the research involved the review and : analysis o...

Repairing/strengthening of bridges with post-tensioned FRP materials and performance evaluation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-09-01

One of the challenges that transportation agencies are facing is to keep bridges in good condition during their service life. : Numerous bridges are classified as structurally and/or functionally deficient in the country. In the state of Louisiana, 4...

Assessing the service life of corrosion-deteriorated reinforced concrete member highway bridges in West Virginia.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-09-01

Corrosion of steel-reinforced concrete bridges is a serious problem facing the WVDOT. This : paper provides an overview of techniques for evaluating the condition of reinforced concrete : bridge elements; methods for modeling the remaining service li...

Evaluation of the on-flex expansion joint sealing system for bridge decks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1984-01-01

The findings from this study were based on limited data. Requests for candidate structures for the inspections indicated that relatively few suitable bridges were available. Only 6 of those bridges could be skid tested. A further limitation was that,...

Evaluation of high performance pavement and bridge deck wearing surface repair materials.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-08-01

This project provided for a laboratory and field testing of several high performance repair materials for : pavements and concrete bridge decks. The main purpose was to provide ODOT with materials and procedures : to shorten road and bridge closures....

Factors affecting the performance of bridge decks in Virginia.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1991-01-01

A detailed examination was made of 34 bridge decks, 11 to 30 years old, containing uncoated reinforcing steel. These bridges are located throughout Virginia. Cores were taken from each to evaluate the quality of the concrete with the objective of det...

Evaluation of a bridge deck with CFRP prestressed panels under fatigue load cycles

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-09-01

This report summarizes a study conducted under an IBRC (Innovative Bridge Research and Construction) project sponsored by the FHWA. In this project, a bridge deck with CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced polymeric) prestressed panels and cast-in-place topp...

Evaluation of the LA 1 bridge at the Morganza flood control structure.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-11-01

This technical assistance report documents the investigation conducted by the Louisiana Transportation : Research Center (LTRC) of the LA 1 Bridge located at the flood control structure near Morganza, LA. : The in-place condition of the bridge deck s...

Evaluation of the LA 1 bridge at the Morganza flood control structure.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-11-01

This technical assistance report documents the investigation conducted by the Louisiana Transportation Research Center (LTRC) of the LA 1 Bridge located at the flood control structure near Morganza, LA. The in-place condition of the bridge deck showe...

Evaluation of repair techniques for impact-damaged prestressed beams : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-04-01

Collisions between over height vehicles and bridges occur about 1,000 times per year in the United States. Collision damage to : bridges can range from minor to catastrophic, potentially requiring repair or replacement of a bridge beam. For prestress...

Synthesis and evaluation of the service limit state of engineered fills for bridge support.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-02-02

This report synthesizes the current service limit state (SLS) design and analyses of engineered fills for bridge support used as shallow foundations. The SLS for settlement and deformations of bridge supports are summarized. Extensive literature revi...

Analysis and design of ion thrusters for large space systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

James, E. L.

1980-01-01

This study undertakes the analysis and conceptual design of a 0.5 Newton electrostatic ion thruster suitable for use on large space system missions in the next decade. Either argon or xenon gas shall be used as propellant. A 50 cm diameter discharge chamber was selected to meet stipulated performance goals. The discharge plasma is contained at the boundary by a periodic structure of alternating permanent magnets generating a series of line cusps. Anode strips between the magnets collect Maxwellian electrons generated by a central cathode. Ion extraction utilizes either two or three grid optics at the user's choice. An extensive analysis was undertaken to investigate optics behavior in the high power environment of this large thruster. A plasma bridge neutralizer operating on inert gas provides charge neutralizing electrons to complete the design. The resulting conceptual thruster and the necessary power management and control requirements are described.

Using a Systematic Conceptual Model for a Process Evaluation of a Middle School Obesity Risk-Reduction Nutrition Curriculum Intervention: "Choice, Control & Change"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Heewon; Contento, Isobel R.; Koch, Pamela

2013-01-01

Objective: To use and review a conceptual model of process evaluation and to examine the implementation of a nutrition education curriculum, "Choice, Control & Change", designed to promote dietary and physical activity behaviors that reduce obesity risk. Design: A process evaluation study based on a systematic conceptual model. Setting: Five…

Structural analysis at aircraft conceptual design stage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansouri, Reza

In the past 50 years, computers have helped by augmenting human efforts with tremendous pace. The aircraft industry is not an exception. Aircraft industry is more than ever dependent on computing because of a high level of complexity and the increasing need for excellence to survive a highly competitive marketplace. Designers choose computers to perform almost every analysis task. But while doing so, existing effective, accurate and easy to use classical analytical methods are often forgotten, which can be very useful especially in the early phases of the aircraft design where concept generation and evaluation demands physical visibility of design parameters to make decisions [39, 2004]. Structural analysis methods have been used by human beings since the very early civilization. Centuries before computers were invented; the pyramids were designed and constructed by Egyptians around 2000 B.C, the Parthenon was built by the Greeks, around 240 B.C, Dujiangyan was built by the Chinese. Persepolis, Hagia Sophia, Taj Mahal, Eiffel tower are only few more examples of historical buildings, bridges and monuments that were constructed before we had any advancement made in computer aided engineering. Aircraft industry is no exception either. In the first half of the 20th century, engineers used classical method and designed civil transport aircraft such as Ford Tri Motor (1926), Lockheed Vega (1927), Lockheed 9 Orion (1931), Douglas DC-3 (1935), Douglas DC-4/C-54 Skymaster (1938), Boeing 307 (1938) and Boeing 314 Clipper (1939) and managed to become airborne without difficulty. Evidencing, while advanced numerical methods such as the finite element analysis is one of the most effective structural analysis methods; classical structural analysis methods can also be as useful especially during the early phase of a fixed wing aircraft design where major decisions are made and concept generation and evaluation demands physical visibility of design parameters to make decisions. Considering the strength and limitations of both methodologies, the question to be answered in this thesis is: How valuable and compatible are the classical analytical methods in today's conceptual design environment? And can these methods complement each other? To answer these questions, this thesis investigates the pros and cons of classical analytical structural analysis methods during the conceptual design stage through the following objectives: Illustrate structural design methodology of these methods within the framework of Aerospace Vehicle Design (AVD) lab's design lifecycle. Demonstrate the effectiveness of moment distribution method through four case studies. This will be done by considering and evaluating the strength and limitation of these methods. In order to objectively quantify the limitation and capabilities of the analytical method at the conceptual design stage, each case study becomes more complex than the one before.

Performance Evaluation of an Intel Haswell- and Ivy Bridge-Based Supercomputer Using Scientific and Engineering Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saini, Subhash; Hood, Robert T.; Chang, Johnny; Baron, John

2016-01-01

We present a performance evaluation conducted on a production supercomputer of the Intel Xeon Processor E5- 2680v3, a twelve-core implementation of the fourth-generation Haswell architecture, and compare it with Intel Xeon Processor E5-2680v2, an Ivy Bridge implementation of the third-generation Sandy Bridge architecture. Several new architectural features have been incorporated in Haswell including improvements in all levels of the memory hierarchy as well as improvements to vector instructions and power management. We critically evaluate these new features of Haswell and compare with Ivy Bridge using several low-level benchmarks including subset of HPCC, HPCG and four full-scale scientific and engineering applications. We also present a model to predict the performance of HPCG and Cart3D within 5%, and Overflow within 10% accuracy.

Detailed seismic evaluation of bridges along I-24 in Western Kentucky.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-09-01

This report presents a seismic rating system and a detailed evaluation procedure for selected highway bridges on/over I-24 in Western Kentucky near the New Madrid Seismic Zone (MNSZ). The rating system, based upon structural vulnerability, seismic an...

Evaluation of corrosion inhibitors for concrete bridge deck patches and overlays.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-01-01

This report presents the results to date of a national pooled fund study initiated in August 1996 to evaluate the long-term performance of bridges and outdoor exposure slabs damaged by chloride-induced corrosion that have concrete containing corrosio...

Evaluation of bent caps in reinforced concrete deck girder bridges, part 2 : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-09-01

This report describes research conducted to enable evaluation of existing vintage bent cap beams in reinforced concrete : deck girder bridges. The report is organized into two parts: 1) flexural anchorage capacity response and prediction of : reduced...

Evaluation of bent caps in reinforced concrete deck girder bridges, part 1 : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-09-01

This report describes research conducted to enable evaluation of existing vintage bent cap beams in reinforced concrete : deck girder bridges. The report is organized into two parts: 1) flexural anchorage capacity response and prediction of : reduced...

Evaluation of deck durability on continuous beam highway bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1985-01-01

In an effort to determine the extent of deck cracking on continuous steel beam bridges and the effect of the cracking on deck durability, 137 structures were visually inspected and 5 of these were selected for detailed evaluation. The general survey ...

Evaluation of a pilot installation of an energy absorbing bridge rail.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1978-01-01

A newly developed bridge rail which uses steel rings that collapse or deform to absorb the energy of an impacting vehicle was retrofitted to the concrete parapet of an existing interstate highway bridge. It was planned that the installation would be ...

Crash test and evaluation of the TxDOT T631 bridge rail.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-01-01

In August 2010, Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF) developed and crash tested a low-cost, energy-absorbing bridge rail for the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) TL-3 applications. This low-cost bridge rail was designed to be compatibl...

Development and validation of a sensor-based health monitoring model for the Parkview Bridge deck.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-01-31

Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) using full-depth precast deck panels is an innovative technique that brings all : the benefits listed under ABC to full fruition. However, this technique needs to be evaluated and the performance of : the bridge ...

Evaluation and analysis of decked bulb T beam bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-03-01

A new corrosion-free decked bulb T beam bridge system has been developed to overcome some of the problems : associated with the construction of side-by-side box beam bridges such as the lack of inspection space between : beams and the longitudinal de...

Evaluating Louisiana new deck continuity detail for precast prestressed concrete girder bridges : research project capsule.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-08-01

The goal of everyone in the transportation community is to build bridges : that are economic, easy to construct, and durable. Therefore, accelerating : bridge construction through the use of precast concrete or prefabricated : steel girders is a comm...

Appliques for the maintenance of lead-based painted bridges : a laboratory assessment of field-performance characteristics.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2004-01-01

Approximately 3,500 bridges in Virginia having steel superstructures are coated with lead-based paints. Many of these bridges are in need of paint maintenance. This research evaluated applique technology, an alternative to the conventional paradigm...

Evaluation of a highway bridge constructed using high strength lightweight concrete bridge girders.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-04-01

The use of high performance concretes to provide longer bridge spans has been limited due to the capacity of existing infrastructure to handle the load of the girders during transportation. The use of High Strength Lightweight Concrete (HSLW) can pro...

Seismic vulnerability of Oregon state highway bridges : mitigation strategies to reduce major mobility risks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-11-01

The Oregon Department of Transportation and Portland State University evaluated the seismic : vulnerability of state highway bridges in western Oregon. The study used a computer program : called REDARS2 that simulated the damage to bridges within a t...

Petrotac bridge deck waterproofing membrane on Five Mile Creek Bridge : first interim report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1986-09-01

During the 1970's, the Oregon State Highway Division was involved in a Federally funded experimental program to evaluate various waterproofing membrane systems for bridge decks. Through this program, a list of approved products and/or systems was dev...

Data collection and evaluation of continuity detail for John James Audubon Bridge No. 61390613004101.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-10-01

This report summarizes findings from monitoring data that was collected over a two-year period from Bridge No. : 61390613004101 in the John James Audubon Project, which was formerly designated as Bridge #2 prior to : construction completion. The brid...

MASH TL-3 Testing and Evaluation of a Steel Bridge Rail with Pickets

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-09-01

TxDOT has a need for a steel bridge rail that anchors to a concrete curb with an aesthetic appearance using steel pickets. Bridge railings that use pickets (concrete and steel) have exhibited undesirable safety performance characteristics. The purpos...

Repairing/strengthening of bridges with post-tensioned FRP materials and performance evaluation : [tech summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-09-01

One of the challenges that transportation agencies are facing is keeping bridges in good condition during their : service life. Numerous bridges are classi ed as structurally and/or functionally de cient in the country. In the : state of Louisi...

Evaluation of Effects of Fire on the I-465 Mainline Bridges : Volume II [Technical Summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-01-01

Steel bridges are occasionally subjected to fire events : due to accidents or explosions of vehicles containing : flammable materials. Significant bridge fire events have : occurred in the recent past. In order to assist with the investigation : of d...

Phenomenology study of HERMES ground-penetrating radar technology for detection and identification of common bridge deck features

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-06-01

Accurately evaluating the condition of a bridge deck over time and using this information to choose appropriate maintenance techniques has become critical for the efficient allocation of resources to bridge deck maintenance. Tomographic imaging of su...

Data collection and evaluation of continuity detail for John James Audubon Bridge #6139061300401 : [tech summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-10-01

This project allowed the continuation of collecting monitoring data from Bridge #6139061300401 in the John James Audubon Project : for an additional two-year period. Bridge #6139061300401 was instrumented as part of an earlier project (LTRC Project N...

Neighborhood Bridges: 2010-2011 Evaluation Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ingram, Debra

2011-01-01

In 2010-2011, students in twenty-five classrooms from eleven schools in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area participated in The Children's Theatre Company's Neighborhood Bridges (Bridges) program. The Children's Theatre Company contracted with the University of Minnesota's Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) to…

LUC-2-1682 long term maintenance of the Anthony Wayne Suspension Bridge main cables.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-01-01

The Anthony Wayne Bridge, Ohio's only suspension bridge, is undergoing an extensive rehabilitation. Prior to taking action to preserve the cables, ODOT must decide what measures to take to evaluate the condition of the cables, how best to rehabilitat...

Field evidence for control of quarrying by rock bridges in jointed bedrock

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hooyer, T. S.; Cohen, D. O.; Iverson, N. R.

2011-12-01

Quarrying is generally thought to be the most important mechanism by which glaciers erode bedrock. In quarrying models it is assumed that slow, subcritical, growth of pre-existing cracks rate-limits the process and occurs where there are large stress differences in the bed, such as near rock bumps where ice separates from the bed to form water-filled cavities. Owing to the direction of principal stresses in rocks associated with sliding and resultant cavity formation, models predict that quarrying will occur along cracks oriented perpendicular to the ice flow direction or parallel to zones of ice-bed contact. Preglacial cracks in rocks will tend to propagate mainly downward, and in sedimentary or some metamorphic rocks will merge with bedding planes, thereby helping to isolate rock blocks for dislodgement. In contrast to these model assumptions, new measurements of quarried surface orientations in the deglaciated forefield of nine glaciers in Switzerland and Canada indicate a strong correlation between orientations of pre-existing joints and quarried bedrock surfaces, independent of ice flow direction or ice-water contact lines. The strong correlation persists across all rock types, and rocks devoid of major joints lack quarried surfaces. We propose a new conceptual model of quarrying that idealizes the bedrock as a series of blocks separated by discontinuous preglacial joints containing intact rock bridges. Bridges concentrate stress differences caused by normal and shear forces acting at the rock surface. Failure of bridges is caused by slow subcritical crack growth enhanced by water pressure fluctuations. To lend credibility to this new model, we show field evidence of failed rock bridges in quarried surfaces and of rib marks on plumose structures that we interpret as arrest fracture fronts due to transient subglacial water-pressure fluctuations.

Vertical electrical impedance evaluation of asphalt overlays on concrete bridge decks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baxter, Jared S.; Guthrie, W. Spencer; Waters, Tenli; Barton, Jeffrey D.; Mazzeo, Brian A.

2018-04-01

Vertical electrical impedance scanning of concrete bridge decks is a non-destructive method for quantifying the degree of protection provided to steel reinforcement against the ingress of corrosive agents. Four concrete bridge decks with asphalt overlays in northern Utah were evaluated using scanning vertical electrical impedance measurements in this study. At the time of testing, the bridges ranged in age from 21 to 34 years, and asphalt overlays had been in place for 7 to 22 years, depending on the bridge. Electrical impedance measurements were collected using a previously constructed apparatus that consisted of six probes spanning a transverse distance of 12 ft. The impedance measurements were compared to surface cracking observations and cores obtained from the same four bridge decks. The results presented in this paper demonstrate the utility of scanning vertical electrical impedance measurements for detecting cracks in asphalt overlays and quantifying their severity. In addition, the results demonstrate the sensitivity of impedance measurements to the presence of an intact membrane beneath the asphalt overlay.

Seismic performance evaluation of an historical concrete deck arch bridge using survey and drawing of the damages, in situ tests, dynamic identification and pushover analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergamo, Otello; Russo, Eleonora; Lodolo, Fabio

2017-07-01

The paper describes the performance evaluation of a retrofit historical multi-span (RC) deck arch bridge analyzed with in situ tests, dynamic identification and FEM analysis. The peculiarity of this case study lies in the structural typology of "San Felice" bridge, an historical concrete arch bridge built in the early 20th century, a quite uncommon feature in Italy. The preservation and retrofit of historic cultural heritage and infrastructures has been carefully analyzed in the international codes governing seismic response. A complete survey of the bridge was carried out prior to sketching a drawing of the existing bridge. Subsequently, the study consists in four steps: material investigation and dynamic vibration tests, FEM analysis and calibration, retrofit assessment, pushover analysis. The aim is to define an innovative approach to calibrate the FEM analysis through modern experimental investigations capable of taking structural deterioration into account, and to offer an appropriate and cost-effective retrofitting strategy.

Non-destructive inspection protocol for reinforced concrete barriers and bridge railings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chintakunta, Satish R.; Boone, Shane D.

2014-02-01

Reinforced concrete highway barriers and bridge railings serve to prevent errant vehicles from departing the travel way at grade separations. Despite the important role that they play in maintaining safety and their ubiquitous nature, barrier inspection rarely moves beyond visual inspection. In August 2008, a tractor-trailer fatally departed William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge after it dislodged a section of the bridge barrier. Investigations following the accident identified significant corrosion of the anchor bolts attaching the bridge railing to the bridge deck. As a result of the information gathered during its investigation of the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) made recommendations to the Federal Highway Administration concerning Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) of concrete bridge railings. The Center for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) at Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, VA is currently evaluating feasibility of using four technologies - ground penetrating radar (GPR), ultrasonic pulse-echo, digital radiography and infrared thermal imaging methods to develop bridge inspection methods that augment visual inspections, offer reliable measurement techniques, and are practical, both in terms of time and cost, for field inspection work. Controlled samples containing predefined corrosion levels in reinforcing steel were embedded at barrier connection points for laboratory testing. All four NDE techniques were used in the initial phase I testing. An inspection protocol for detecting and measuring the corrosion of reinforced steel embedded in the anchorage system will be developed as part of phase II research. The identified technologies shall be further developed for field testing utilizing a structure with a barrier in good condition and a structure with a barrier in poor condition.

Five-year clinical evaluation of zirconia-based bridges in patients in UK general dental practices.

PubMed

Burke, F J T; Crisp, R J; Cowan, A J; Lamb, J; Thompson, O; Tulloch, N

2013-11-01

This study reported the results at 5 years of fixed-fixed all-ceramic bridges, constructed in a yttria oxide stabilized tetragonal zirconium oxide polycrystal (Y-TZP) substructure, placed in adult patients in UK general dental practices. Four UK general dental practitioners recruited patients who required fixed bridgework and, after obtaining informed written consent, appropriate clinical and radiographic assessments were completed. The teeth were prepared and bridges constructed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Each bridge was reviewed annually within 3 months of the anniversary of its placement by a calibrated examiner, together with the clinician who had placed the restoration, using modified USPHS criteria. Of the 41 bridges originally placed, 33 bridges were examined at 5 years. All Y-TZP frameworks were intact and no bridge retainers had debonded. Eight chipping fractures in the veneering ceramic were noted over the 5-year period. In five cases the patients were unaware of these and these cases were polished. Of the remaining three cases, in one a repair was attempted but was unsuccessful, but the bridge remained in satisfactory service. However, in the case involving a chipping fracture of the mesial-incisal angle of a central incisor, it was considered that replacement of the bridge was necessary. 97% (n=32) of the 33 Lava Y-TZP fixed-fixed bridges, evaluated in patients attending UK general dental practices, were found to be performing satisfactorily. The use of Y-TZP frameworks holds promise. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A-jacks and Aquawrap installations in Utah : scour revetment performance evaluation, final report, December 2009.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-12-01

This is a performance evaluation report for A-Jacks, an articulated concrete block designed to protect bridge elements exposed to the river scouring forces, and for Aquawrap, a glass fiber reinforced polymer designed to protect and strengthen bridge ...

Evaluation of bridge decks using non-destructive evaluation (NDE) at near highway speeds for effective asset management - pilot project.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-09-29

This project piloted the findings from an initial research and development project pertaining to the detection, : quantification, and visualization of bridge deck distresses through the use of remote sensing techniques, specifically : combining optic...

Nondestructive testing of a weld repair on the I-65 Bridge over the Ohio River at Louisville.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-06-01

Nondestructive evaluation methods were applied to verify the structural integrity of a fracture critical structural member on the I-65 John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge over the Ohio River at Louisville. Several nondestructive evaluation methods includ...

Evaluation of thin epoxy system overlays for concrete bridge decks : interim report No. 1.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1986-05-01

Four epoxy overlay systems were applied to concrete bridge decks in north Louisiana to evaluate their performance as skid resistant surfaces primarily and also as concrete sealers. Dural Flexolith, Poly-Carb Flexogrid, and Con/Chem Cono/Crete were pl...

Feasibility evaluation of utilizing high-strength concrete in design and construction of highway bridge structures.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1994-01-01

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the feasibility of using high-strength concrete in the design and construction of highway bridge structures. A literature search was conducted; a survey of five regional fabrication plants was perfo...

Evaluation of thin epoxy system overlays for concrete bridge decks : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1991-12-01

Four overlay systems were applied to concrete bridge decks in north Louisiana in May 1995 to evaluate their performance as friction surface and also as concrete sealers. Dural Flexolith, Poly-Carb Flexogrid, and Con/Chem Con/Crete were placed on thre...

Final report for Verglimit at hole-in-the-wall slide section : experimental feature evaluation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1989-06-01

In 1983, experimental Verglimit overlays were placed on two Oregon bridges known to have icing problems. The performance of the test overlays, constructed on the Salmon River Bridge in Clackamas County and the Quartz Creek Bridge in Clatsop County, w...

Development and validation of a sensor-based health monitoring model for the Parkview Bridge deck : [appendices].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-01-31

Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) using full-depth precast deck panels is an innovative technique that brings all the benefits listed under ABC to full fruition. However, this technique needs to be evaluated and the performance of the bridge need...

Evaluation of a Highway Bridge Constructed Using High Strength Lightweight Concrete Bridge Girders : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-04-01

The use of high performance concretes to provide longer bridge spans has been limited due to the capacity of existing infrastructure to handle the load of the girders during transportation. The use of High Strength Lightweight Concrete (HSLW) can pro...

Computational Design Tool for Bridge Hydrodynamic Loading in Inundated Flows of Midwest Rivers

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-12-01

The hydraulic forces experienced by an inundated bridge deck have great importance in the design of bridges. The proper estimation of loading exerted by the flow on the structure is important for design plans and is pertinent for evaluating its vulne...

Geomorphology and river dynamics of the lower Copper River, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brabets, Timothy P.; Conaway, Jeffrey S.

2009-01-01

Located in south-central Alaska, the Copper River drains an area of more than 24,000 square miles. The average annual flow of the river near its mouth is 63,600 cubic feet per second, but is highly variable between winter and summer. In the winter, flow averages approximately 11,700 cubic feet per second, and in the summer, due to snowmelt, rainfall, and glacial melt, flow averages approximately 113,000 cubic feet per second, an order of magnitude higher. About 15 miles upstream of its mouth, the Copper River flows past the face of Childs Glacier and enters a large, broad, delta. The Copper River Highway traverses this flood plain, and in 2008, 11 bridges were located along this section of the highway. The bridges cross several parts of the Copper River and in recent years, the changing course of the river has seriously damaged some of the bridges.Analysis of aerial photography from 1991, 1996, 2002, 2006, and 2007 indicates the eastward migration of a channel of the Copper River that has resulted in damage to the Copper River Highway near Mile 43.5. Migration of another channel in the flood plain has resulted in damage to the approach of Bridge 339. As a verification of channel change, flow measurements were made at bridges along the Copper River Highway in 2005–07. Analysis of the flow measurements indicate that the total flow of the Copper River has shifted from approximately 50 percent passing through the bridges at Mile 27, near the western edge of the flood plain, and 50 percent passing through the bridges at Mile 36–37 to approximately 5 percent passing through the bridges at Mile 27 and 95 percent through the bridges at Mile 36–37 during average flow periods.The U.S. Geological Survey’s Multi-Dimensional Surface-Water Modeling System was used to simulate water-surface elevation and velocity, and to compute bed shear stress at two areas where the Copper River is affecting the Copper River Highway. After calibration, the model was used to examine the effects that betterments, such as guide banks or bridge extensions, would have on flow conditions and to provide sound conceptual information that could help decide if a proposed betterment will work or determine potential problems that need to be addressed for a particular betterment. The ability of the model to simulate these hydraulic conditions was constrained by the accuracy and level of channel geometry detail, which is constantly changing in the lower Copper River.

Risk Evaluation in the Pre-Phase A Conceptual Design of Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fabisinski, Leo L., III; Maples, Charlotte Dauphne

2010-01-01

Typically, the most important decisions in the design of a spacecraft are made in the earliest stages of its conceptual design the Pre-Phase A stages. It is in these stages that the greatest number of design alternatives is considered, and the greatest number of alternatives is rejected. The focus of Pre-Phase A conceptual development is on the evaluation and comparison of whole concepts and the larger-scale systems comprising those concepts. This comparison typically uses general Figures of Merit (FOMs) to quantify the comparative benefits of designs and alternative design features. Along with mass, performance, and cost, risk should be one of the major FOMs in evaluating design decisions during the conceptual design phases. However, risk is often given inadequate consideration in conceptual design practice. The reasons frequently given for this lack of attention to risk include: inadequate mission definition, lack of rigorous design requirements in early concept phases, lack of fidelity in risk assessment methods, and under-evaluation of risk as a viable FOM for design evaluation. In this paper, the role of risk evaluation in early conceptual design is discussed. The various requirements of a viable risk evaluation tool at the Pre-Phase A level are considered in light of the needs of a typical spacecraft design study. A technique for risk identification and evaluation is presented. The application of the risk identification and evaluation approach to the conceptual design process is discussed. Finally, a computational tool for risk profiling is presented and applied to assess the risk for an existing Pre-Phase A proposal. The resulting profile is compared to the risks identified for the proposal by other means.

Parity in Designing, Conducting, and Evaluating Teacher Education Programs: A Conceptual Definition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caruso, Joseph J.

Individuals, agencies, and institutions involved in the education and employment of teachers conceptually defined parity relevant to the decision-making process in planning, conducting, and evaluating teacher education programs and translated the conceptual definition into an instrument for describing parity in consortium-centered teacher…

Using conceptual spaces to fuse knowledge from heterogeneous robot platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kira, Zsolt

2010-04-01

As robots become more common, it becomes increasingly useful for many applications to use them in teams that sense the world in a distributed manner. In such situations, the robots or a central control center must communicate and fuse information received from multiple sources. A key challenge for this problem is perceptual heterogeneity, where the sensors, perceptual representations, and training instances used by the robots differ dramatically. In this paper, we use Gärdenfors' conceptual spaces, a geometric representation with strong roots in cognitive science and psychology, in order to represent the appearance of objects and show how the problem of heterogeneity can be intuitively explored by looking at the situation where multiple robots differ in their conceptual spaces at different levels. To bridge low-level sensory differences, we abstract raw sensory data into properties (such as color or texture categories), represented as Gaussian Mixture Models, and demonstrate that this facilitates both individual learning and the fusion of concepts between robots. Concepts (e.g. objects) are represented as a fuzzy mixture of these properties. We then treat the problem where the conceptual spaces of two robots differ and they only share a subset of these properties. In this case, we use joint interaction and statistical metrics to determine which properties are shared. Finally, we show how conceptual spaces can handle the combination of such missing properties when fusing concepts received from different robots. We demonstrate the fusion of information in real-robot experiments with a Mobile Robots Amigobot and Pioneer 2DX with significantly different cameras and (on one robot) a SICK lidar.ÿÿÿÿ

Change in trunk muscle activities with prone bridge exercise in patients with chronic low back pain.

PubMed

Kong, Yong-Soo; Park, Seol; Kweon, Mi-Gyong; Park, Ji-Won

2016-01-01

[Purpose] The aim of this study was to determine the effect of three different bridge exercises on internal oblique, external oblique, transverse abdominis, and erector spinae activities. [Subjects and Methods] Forty-five subjects with chronic low back pain participated in this study. The training outcome was evaluated with three different testing methods: supine bridge exercise, supine bridge on Swiss ball exercise, and prone bridge exercise. The activities of the transverse abdominis, internal oblique, external oblique, and erector spinae were measured using surface electromyography. [Results] There were significant differences in the internal oblique, external oblique, and erector spinae according to the three kinds of bridging exercises. The internal oblique, external oblique and transverse abdominis activities were highest in the prone bridge exercise, followed by those in the supine bridge on Swiss ball exercise, and supine bridge exercises. The activity of erector spine was highest in the supine bridge on Swiss ball exercise followed by the supine bridge exercise and prone bridge exercise. [Conclusion] These results suggest that prone bridge exercise is more effective than conventional supine bridge exercise and supine bridge on Swiss ball in increasing trunk muscle activity of chronic low back pain patients.

Long-Term Structural Health Monitoring System for a High-Speed Railway Bridge Structure.

PubMed

Ding, You-Liang; Wang, Gao-Xin; Sun, Peng; Wu, Lai-Yi; Yue, Qing

2015-01-01

Nanjing Dashengguan Bridge, which serves as the shared corridor crossing Yangtze River for both Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway and Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu railway, is the first 6-track high-speed railway bridge with the longest span throughout the world. In order to ensure safety and detect the performance deterioration during the long-time service of the bridge, a Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system has been implemented on this bridge by the application of modern techniques in sensing, testing, computing, and network communication. The SHM system includes various sensors as well as corresponding data acquisition and transmission equipment for automatic data collection. Furthermore, an evaluation system of structural safety has been developed for the real-time condition assessment of this bridge. The mathematical correlation models describing the overall structural behavior of the bridge can be obtained with the support of the health monitoring system, which includes cross-correlation models for accelerations, correlation models between temperature and static strains of steel truss arch, and correlation models between temperature and longitudinal displacements of piers. Some evaluation results using the mean value control chart based on mathematical correlation models are presented in this paper to show the effectiveness of this SHM system in detecting the bridge's abnormal behaviors under the varying environmental conditions such as high-speed trains and environmental temperature.

Myocardial bridges of the coronary arteries in the human fetal heart.

PubMed

Cakmak, Yusuf Ozgür; Cavdar, Safiye; Yalin, Aymelek; Yener, Nuran; Ozdogmus, Omer

2010-09-01

During the last century, many investigators reported on myocardial bridges in the adult human heart. In the present study, 39 human fetal hearts (the mean gestastional age was 30 weeks) were studied for myocardial bridging, and the results were correlated with adult data. Among the 39 (27 male and 12 female) fetal hearts studied, 26 bridges were observed on 18 fetal hearts (46.2%). Ten of the bridges had one myocardial bridge, whereas double myocardial bridges were observed in eight fetal hearts. The most frequent myocardial bridges were observed on the left anterior descending artery (LAD), which had 13 bridges (50%). Eight (30.7%) myocardial bridges were on the diagonal artery, and on the posterior descending artery there were five (19.3%). Myocardial bridges were not observed on the circumflex artery. The data presented in this study may provide potentially useful information for the preoperative evaluation of the newborn and may have a clinical implication for sudden fetal death.

A probabilistic bridge safety evaluation against floods.

PubMed

Liao, Kuo-Wei; Muto, Yasunori; Chen, Wei-Lun; Wu, Bang-Ho

2016-01-01

To further capture the influences of uncertain factors on river bridge safety evaluation, a probabilistic approach is adopted. Because this is a systematic and nonlinear problem, MPP-based reliability analyses are not suitable. A sampling approach such as a Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) or importance sampling is often adopted. To enhance the efficiency of the sampling approach, this study utilizes Bayesian least squares support vector machines to construct a response surface followed by an MCS, providing a more precise safety index. Although there are several factors impacting the flood-resistant reliability of a bridge, previous experiences and studies show that the reliability of the bridge itself plays a key role. Thus, the goal of this study is to analyze the system reliability of a selected bridge that includes five limit states. The random variables considered here include the water surface elevation, water velocity, local scour depth, soil property and wind load. Because the first three variables are deeply affected by river hydraulics, a probabilistic HEC-RAS-based simulation is performed to capture the uncertainties in those random variables. The accuracy and variation of our solutions are confirmed by a direct MCS to ensure the applicability of the proposed approach. The results of a numerical example indicate that the proposed approach can efficiently provide an accurate bridge safety evaluation and maintain satisfactory variation.

Next-generation wireless bridge weigh-in-motion (WIM) system integrated with nondestructive evaluation (NDE) capability for transportation infrastructure safety.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-05-01

This project seeks to develop a rapidly deployable, low-cost, and wireless system for bridge : weigh-in-motion (BWIM) and nondestructive evaluation (NDE). The system is proposed to : assist in monitoring transportation infrastructure safety, for the ...

An evaluation of the performance of concretes containing fly ash and ground slag in bridge decks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2006-01-01

Cores from 36 bridge decks were evaluated to assess the condition and quality of the concrete by petrographic methods and direct and indirect measures of the transport properties. Transport properties were measured by a rate of absorption test (ASTM ...

Strengthening reinforced concrete bridges in New Mexico using fiber reinforced polymers : a compendium of four reports.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-03-01

AbstractThe objective of this report is to provide detailed evaluation of the structural capacity of the concrete frame bridges #7930, 7931, 7937 and 7938 at Tucumcari, New Mexicoand evaluate their need for strengthening. Finite Element (FE) analysis...

Feasibility evaluation of utilizing high strength concrete in design and construction of highway bridge structures : interim report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1992-12-01

The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the feasibility of using high-strength concrete in the design and construction of highway bridge structures. A literature search was conducted; a survey of five regional fabrication plants was perfo...

Evaluation of the SafeLane overlay system for crash reduction on bridge deck surfaces.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-03-01

The winter performance of the SafeLane commercial overlay system has been evaluated at four installations on : bridge decks in the state of Minnesota. The study was conducted over a period of a total of three years. Analyses : included mechanical ...

Evaluation of effects of super-heavy loading on the US 41 bridge over the White River : appendices.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

Built in 1958, the US-41 White River Bridge is a two-girder, riveted steel structure located in Hazelton, IN. The bridge is comprised of two, sixteen span superstructures sharing a common substructure. Each superstructure also contains four pin and h...

Evaluation of effects of super-heavy loading on the US 41 bridge over the White River.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

Built in 1958, the US-41 White River Bridge is a two-girder, riveted steel structure located in Hazelton, IN. The bridge is comprised of two, sixteen span : superstructures sharing a common substructure. Each superstructure also contains four pin and...

Bridge approach slabs for Missouri DOT field evaluation of alternative and cost efficient bridge approach slabs.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-05-01

Based on a recent study on cost efficient alternative bridge approach slab (BAS) designs (Thiagarajan et : al. 2010) has recommended three new BAS designs for possible implementation by MoDOT namely a) 20 feet cast-inplace : slab with sleeper slab (C...

Evaluation of the in-service performance of the Tom's Creek Bridge fiber-reinforced polymer superstructure.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-01-01

The Tom's Creek Bridge is a small-scale demonstration project involving the use of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite girders as the main load carrying members. It is a simply supported, short-span bridge located along Tom's Creek Road in Black...

Evaluation of Erection Procedures of the Horizontally Curved Steel I-Girder Ford City Veterans Bridge

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2002-03-06

In the case of horizontally steel curved I-girder bridges, it is important to carefully analyze the erection sequence of the superstructure so as to ensure that difficulties do not arise in the field during construction of the bridge. Generally, prob...

78 FR 11266 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments for a New Information Collection

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-15

... Inspection Protocol for Reinforced Concrete Highway Barriers and Bridge Railings. Background: Highway... separations. Most bridge railings are made of reinforced concrete. Despite the important role that they play... Federal Highway Administration concerning Non- Destructive Evaluation of concrete bridge railings. One of...

Evaluation of the performance of a press-lam timber bridge : interim report no. 1, bridge installation and load test.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1977-01-01

The report describes the installation and load test of the world's first press-lam timber bridge superstructure. A five-man crew replaced the substandard steel stringer-timber deck superstructure on Rte. 610 over Little Stoney Creek in Shenandoah Cou...

Monitoring load distribution and fatigue cost estimates of heavy truck loads on Louisiana state bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-11-01

The bridge in this study was evaluated and a monitoring system was installed to investigate the effects of heavy loads and : the cost of fatigue for bridges on state highways in Louisiana. Also, this study is used to respond to Louisiana Senate : Con...

Load distribution and fatigue cost estimates of heavy truck loads on Louisiana state bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-11-01

The bridge in this study was evaluated and a monitoring system was installed to investigate the effects of heavy loads and : the cost of fatigue for bridges on state highways in Louisiana. Also, this study is used to respond to Louisiana Senate : Con...

Evaluation of effects of super-heavy loading on the US 41 bridge over the White River : technical summary.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

Built in 1958, the US-41 White River Bridge is a two-girder, riveted steel structure located near Hazelton, IN. The bridge is comprised of two, sixteen span superstructures sharing a common substructure. Each superstructure also contains four pin and...

Evaluating the time-dependent and bond characteristics of lightweight concrete mixes for Kansas prestressed concrete bridges : technical summary.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-07-01

The majority of the bridges in Kansas are in rural areas. Many of these are : becoming structurally deficient, and are in need of replacement. Due to the location of : these bridges, cost of transporting prestressed girders to these areas often makes...

Cognitive Issues in Learning Advanced Physics: An Example from Quantum Mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Chandralekha; Zhu, Guangtian

2009-11-01

We are investigating cognitive issues in learning quantum mechanics in order to develop effective teaching and learning tools. The analysis of cognitive issues is particularly important for bridging the gap between the quantitative and conceptual aspects of quantum mechanics and for ensuring that the learning tools help students build a robust knowledge structure. We discuss the cognitive aspects of quantum mechanics that are similar or different from those of introductory physics and their implications for developing strategies to help students develop a good grasp of quantum mechanics.

Hydraulic analysis of the Schoharie Creek bridge

USGS Publications Warehouse

Froehlich, David C.; Trent, Roy E.

1989-01-01

Ten people died on April 5, 1987 as a result of the collapse of two spans of a New York State Thruway bridge into the floodwaters of Schoharie Creek. The cause of the bridge failure was determined to be scour of bed material from under the foundations of piers supporting the bridge. To evaluate the hydraulic conditions that produced the scour, a two-dimensional finite element surface-water flow model was constructed. The model was used to obtain a detailed description of water-surface elevations and depth-averaged velocities within a reach that extends from about 4000 ft downstream of the bridge to about 6000 ft upstream of the bridge.

Damage detection in bridges through fiber optic structural health monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doornink, J. D.; Phares, B. M.; Wipf, T. J.; Wood, D. L.

2006-10-01

A fiber optic structural health monitoring (SHM) system was developed and deployed by the Iowa State University (ISU) Bridge Engineering Center (BEC) to detect gradual or sudden damage in fracture-critical bridges (FCBs). The SHM system is trained with measured performance data, which are collected by fiber optic strain sensors to identify typical bridge behavior when subjected to ambient traffic loads. Structural responses deviating from the trained behavior are considered to be signs of structural damage or degradation and are identified through analytical procedures similar to control chart analyses used in statistical process control (SPC). The demonstration FCB SHM system was installed on the US Highway 30 bridge near Ames, IA, and utilizes 40 fiber bragg grating (FBG) sensors to continuously monitor the bridge response when subjected to ambient traffic loads. After the data is collected and processed, weekly evaluation reports are developed that summarize the continuous monitoring results. Through use of the evaluation reports, the bridge owner is able to identify and estimate the location and severity of the damage. The information presented herein includes an overview of the SHM components, results from laboratory and field validation testing on the system components, and samples of the reduced and analyzed data.

Exploring the Gender Gap in the Conceptual Survey of Electricity and Magnetism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henderson, Rachel; Stewart, Gay; Stewart, John; Michaluk, Lynnette; Traxler, Adrienne

2017-01-01

The "gender gap" on various physics conceptual evaluations has been extensively studied. Men's average pretest scores on the Force Concept Inventory and Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation are 13% higher than women's, and post-test scores are on average 12% higher than women's. This study analyzed the gender differences within the…

Use of Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors for performing automated bridge pier structural damage detection and scour monitoring.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-04-01

The goal of this study was to evaluate the performance of Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors able to detect impacts with : different frequencies on a bridge pier. The FBG technology was evaluated under controlled conditions in a laboratory : flume set...

Air-launched GPR evaluation for rapid assessment of MoDOT bridge decks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-03-01

This study demonstrated the utility of the air-launched ground penetrating radar (GPR) tool in terms of : evaluating the condition of MoDOT bridge decks. The objective was to confirm that the air-launched GPR : tool can be implemented as a part of a ...

Field strain monitoring to evaluate unexpected cracking in a non-redundant steel plate girder bridge.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-07-01

This study was carried out to evaluate fatigue cracking in tie plates in a multi-span, non-redundant, steel plategirder : bridge. The plates are needed to provide continuity for the transverse floor beams. Repairs have been : on-going, and the goal w...

Evaluation of performance and maximum length of continuous decks in bridges : part 1.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-06-01

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the performance history of continuous bridge decks in the State of Georgia, to determine why the current design detail works, to recommend a new design detail, and to recommend the maximum and/or optimum l...

GPS for structural health monitoring - case study on the Basarab overpass cable-stayed bridge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lepadatu, Alexandru; Tiberius, Christian

2014-04-01

The Basarab cable-stayed bridge is a newly built structure in Bucharest, Romania, which was inaugurated in June 2011. Before the oficial opening, in order to assure its qualification for trafic, it had to pass several loading tests with convoys of trucks and trams. For this, besides a priori evaluation using the Finite Element Method (FEM), levelling and acceleration measurements were made to identify vertical displacements, as well as vibration frequencies of the bridge. The three-day loading trial of the bridge represented a good opportunity for setting-up a GPS campaign for structural monitoring of the Basarab bridge. Taking advantage of the redundancy obtained via simultaneous multi-sensor measurements, it was possible to compare and validate the GPS estimated displacements with both FEM and levelling. Moreover, the dynamic behaviour of the bridge during a dynamic loading test was evaluated using a 20 Hz GPS observation rate and validated afterwards with vibration frequency estimates from acceleration time series. Along with simulations (FEM) and laboratory tests, the in situ monitoring of a structure has a particular importance in establishing the safety of a newly-built structure. Furthermore, in some cases permanent monitoring is needed for safety and economic reasons, especially for strategic structures such as dams and bridges. GPS technology can satisfy this request due to its real-time processing capability and thus it can be looked upon as a new and promising tool for dynamic evaluation of engineering structures. In this contribution we have also assessed the performance of GPS with regard to accuracy and false alarm probability demands for the continuous monitoring of the Basarab cable-stayed bridge.

Non-destructive inspection protocol for reinforced concrete barriers and bridge railings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chintakunta, Satish R.; Boone, Shane D.

Reinforced concrete highway barriers and bridge railings serve to prevent errant vehicles from departing the travel way at grade separations. Despite the important role that they play in maintaining safety and their ubiquitous nature, barrier inspection rarely moves beyond visual inspection. In August 2008, a tractor-trailer fatally departed William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial Bridge after it dislodged a section of the bridge barrier. Investigations following the accident identified significant corrosion of the anchor bolts attaching the bridge railing to the bridge deck. As a result of the information gathered during its investigation of the accident, the National Transportation Safety Boardmore » (NTSB) made recommendations to the Federal Highway Administration concerning Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) of concrete bridge railings. The Center for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) at Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center in McLean, VA is currently evaluating feasibility of using four technologies - ground penetrating radar (GPR), ultrasonic pulse-echo, digital radiography and infrared thermal imaging methods to develop bridge inspection methods that augment visual inspections, offer reliable measurement techniques, and are practical, both in terms of time and cost, for field inspection work. Controlled samples containing predefined corrosion levels in reinforcing steel were embedded at barrier connection points for laboratory testing. All four NDE techniques were used in the initial phase I testing. An inspection protocol for detecting and measuring the corrosion of reinforced steel embedded in the anchorage system will be developed as part of phase II research. The identified technologies shall be further developed for field testing utilizing a structure with a barrier in good condition and a structure with a barrier in poor condition.« less

Development and construction of low-cracking high-performance concrete (LC-HPC) bridge decks : free shrinkage, moisture optimization and concrete production : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-08-01

The development and evaluation of low-cracking high-performance concrete (LC-HPC) for use in bridge decks : is described based on laboratory test results and experience gained during the construction of 14 bridges. This report : emphasizes the materi...

MASH TL-3 crash testing and evaluation of the TxDOT T631 Bridge Rail.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-07-01

The Texas Type T631 bridge rail was developed as a low-cost, flexible bridge rail system for TL-2 : applications. Many of the features used for the system tested at MwRSF for TL-3 were incorporated into the : design developed for this project for MAS...

Crashworthy railing for timber bridges

Treesearch

Michael A. Ritter; Ronald K. Faller; Sheila Rimal Duwadi

1999-01-01

Bridge railing systems in the United States have historically beers designed based on static load criteria given in the American Association of State Highway and Transportation 0fficials (AASHTO) Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges. In the past decade, full-scale vehicle crash testing has been recognized as a more appropriate and reliable method of evaluating...

Creep Shrinkage and CTE Evaluation: MoDOT's New Bridge Deck Mix Companion Testing to HPC Bridge Deck.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-02-01

MoDOT RDT Research Project R-I00-002 HPC for Bridge A6130 Route 412 Pemiscot County was recently completed in June of 2004 [Myers and Yang, 2004]. Among other research tasks, part of this research study investigated the creep, shrinkage and...

Development and construction of low-cracking high-performance concrete (LC-HPC) bridge decks : free shrinkage, moisture optimization and concrete production : summary report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-08-01

The development and evaluation of low-cracking high-performance concrete (LC-HPC) for use in bridge decks : is described based on laboratory test results and experience gained during the construction of 14 bridges. This report : emphasizes the materi...

Bulb-T beams with self-consolidating concrete on the Route 33 bridge over the Pamunkey River in Virginia.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-01-01

This study evaluated the bulb-T beams made with self-consolidating concrete (SCC) used in the Route 33 Bridge over the Pamunkey River at West Point, Virginia. Before the construction of the bridge, two test beams with SCC similar in cross section to ...

Investigation of voids/cracking on the I-275 twin bridges over the Ohio River in Kenton County : Phase I : final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-03-01

An evaluation of the northbound bridge approach and the abutment wall of (Combs-Hehl) bridge on I-275 in Kenton County was conducted in September 2007. The inspection consisted of using ground penetrating radar to look for potential voids beneath the...

78 FR 37648 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments for a New Information Collection

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-21

... Concrete Highway Barriers and Bridge Railings. Background: Highway barriers and bridge railings serve to... of reinforced concrete. Despite the important role that they play in maintaining safety and their... concerning Non- Destructive Evaluation of concrete bridge railings. One of these recommendations (H-10-18) is...

Nondestructive Evaluation of Concrete Bridge Decks with Automated Acoustic Scanning System and Ground Penetrating Radar.

PubMed

Sun, Hongbin; Pashoutani, Sepehr; Zhu, Jinying

2018-06-16

Delamanintions and reinforcement corrosion are two common problems in concrete bridge decks. No single nondestructive testing method (NDT) is able to provide comprehensive characterization of these defects. In this work, two NDT methods, acoustic scanning and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), were used to image a straight concrete bridge deck and a curved intersection ramp bridge. An acoustic scanning system has been developed for rapid delamination mapping. The system consists of metal-ball excitation sources, air-coupled sensors, and a GPS positioning system. The acoustic scanning results are presented as a two-dimensional image that is based on the energy map in the frequency range of 0.5⁻5 kHz. The GPR scanning results are expressed as the GPR signal attenuation map to characterize concrete deterioration and reinforcement corrosion. Signal processing algorithms for both methods are discussed. Delamination maps from the acoustic scanning are compared with deterioration maps from the GPR scanning on both bridges. The results demonstrate that combining the acoustic and GPR scanning results will provide a complementary and comprehensive evaluation of concrete bridge decks.

Fatigue assessment of an existing steel bridge by finite element modelling and field measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwad, J.; Alencar, G.; Correia, J.; Jesus, A.; Calçada, R.; Kripakaran, P.

2017-05-01

The evaluation of fatigue life of structural details in metallic bridges is a major challenge for bridge engineers. A reliable and cost-effective approach is essential to ensure appropriate maintenance and management of these structures. Typically, local stresses predicted by a finite element model of the bridge are employed to assess the fatigue life of fatigue-prone details. This paper illustrates an approach for fatigue assessment based on measured data for a connection in an old bascule steel bridge located in Exeter (UK). A finite element model is first developed from the design information. The finite element model of the bridge is calibrated using measured responses from an ambient vibration test. The stress time histories are calculated through dynamic analysis of the updated finite element model. Stress cycles are computed through the rainflow counting algorithm, and the fatigue prone details are evaluated using the standard SN curves approach and the Miner’s rule. Results show that the proposed approach can estimate the fatigue damage of a fatigue prone detail in a structure using measured strain data.

Bridges Dynamic Parameters Identification Based On Experimental and Numerical Method Comparison in Regard with Traffic Seismicity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krkošková, Katarína; Papán, Daniel; Papánová, Zuzana

2017-10-01

The technical seismicity negatively affects the environment, buildings and structures. Technical seismicity means seismic shakes caused by force impulse, random process and unnatural origin. The vibration influence on buildings is evaluated in the Eurocode 8 in Slovak Republic, however, the Slovak Technical Standard STN 73 0036 includes solution of the technical seismicity. This standard also classes bridges into the group of structures that are significant in light of the technical seismicity - the group “U”. Using the case studies analysis by FEM simulation and comparison is necessary because of brief norm evaluation of this issue. In this article, determinate dynamic parameters by experimental measuring and numerical method on two real bridges are compared. First bridge, (D201 - 00) is Scaffold Bridge on the road I/11 leading to the city of Čadca and is situated in the city of Žilina. It is eleven - span concrete road bridge. The railway is the obstacle, which this bridge spans. Second bridge (M5973 Brodno) is situated in the part of Žilina City on the road of I/11. It is concrete three - span road bridge built as box girder. The computing part includes 3D computational models of the bridges. First bridge (D201 - 00) was modelled in the software of IDA Nexis as the slab - wall model. The model outputs are natural frequencies and natural vibration modes. Second bridge (M5973 Brodno) was modelled in the software of VisualFEA. The technical seismicity corresponds with the force impulse, which was put into this model. The model outputs are vibration displacements, velocities and accelerations. The aim of the experiments was measuring of the vibration acceleration time record of bridges, and there was need to systematic placement of accelerometers. The vibration acceleration time record is important during the under - bridge train crossing, about the first bridge (D201 - 00) and the vibration acceleration time domain is important during deducing the force impulse under the bridge, about second bridge (M5973 Brodno). The analysis was done in the software of Sigview. About the first bridge (D201 - 00), the analysis output were values of power spectral density adherent to the frequencies values. These frequencies were compared with the natural frequencies values from the computational model whereby the technical seismicity influence on bridge natural frequencies was found out. About the second bridge (M5973 Brodno), the Sigview display of recorded vibration velocity time history was compared with the final vibration velocity time history from the computational model, whereby the results were incidental.

Making patient safety the focus: crisis resource management in the undergraduate curriculum.

PubMed

Flanagan, Brendan; Nestel, Debra; Joseph, Michele

2004-01-01

This paper examines the role of high fidelity simulation and crisis resource management in bridging the gap between theory and practice. Patient safety is fundamental to healthcare professional practice and is a common goal for healthcare providers. It provides a focus to motivate practitioners. Patient safety issues are not a priority in undergraduate curricula. Raising the profile at this level is crucial to improving the safety and quality of healthcare delivery. This paper explores the role of simulation in providing a realistic, safe environment for participants with different levels of experience to manage evolving crises in the context of their work environment. The Southern Health Simulation and Skills Centre uses a patient safety focus in delivering a specialised educational programme adapted from aviation to healthcare. The programme, crisis resource management, enables participants to consolidate knowledge, attitudes and skills to achieve a deeper understanding of how their performance impacts on patient safety and the quality of healthcare provided. Self-reported written evaluation data was collected from participants of three different courses at Southern Health. Participants consistently report that these courses offer unique learning experiences that address aspects of workplace learning in ways that have not previously been possible. A video-assisted reflective process powerfully reinforces learning. Crisis resource management courses demonstrate the value of simulation in bridging the gap between 'knowing' and 'doing' and keeping the focus on patient safety. Recommendations are made for ways in which the core elements of crisis resource management philosophy can influence the conceptualization of a new medical curriculum.

Inventory and Evaluation of Engineering Cultural Resources: Montgomery to Gadsden, Alabama Coosa River, Alabama,

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-03-01

to retain some of its aesthetic quality. Important bridges were also being constructed outside of France. The Westminister Bridge (1738-50) was built... Legislative Session. It was eventually to connect the waters of Mobile Bay with the Coosa River at Wetumpka, and eventually with the Tennessee. The project...Bridge Act of 1927 were important legislative aids. The state act resulted in the construction of fifteen major bridges, including the attractive

Error Sources in Proccessing LIDAR Based Bridge Inspection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bian, H.; Chen, S. E.; Liu, W.

2017-09-01

Bridge inspection is a critical task in infrastructure management and is facing unprecedented challenges after a series of bridge failures. The prevailing visual inspection was insufficient in providing reliable and quantitative bridge information although a systematic quality management framework was built to ensure visual bridge inspection data quality to minimize errors during the inspection process. The LiDAR based remote sensing is recommended as an effective tool in overcoming some of the disadvantages of visual inspection. In order to evaluate the potential of applying this technology in bridge inspection, some of the error sources in LiDAR based bridge inspection are analysed. The scanning angle variance in field data collection and the different algorithm design in scanning data processing are the found factors that will introduce errors into inspection results. Besides studying the errors sources, advanced considerations should be placed on improving the inspection data quality, and statistical analysis might be employed to evaluate inspection operation process that contains a series of uncertain factors in the future. Overall, the development of a reliable bridge inspection system requires not only the improvement of data processing algorithms, but also systematic considerations to mitigate possible errors in the entire inspection workflow. If LiDAR or some other technology can be accepted as a supplement for visual inspection, the current quality management framework will be modified or redesigned, and this would be as urgent as the refine of inspection techniques.

Long-Term Structural Health Monitoring System for a High-Speed Railway Bridge Structure

PubMed Central

Wu, Lai-Yi

2015-01-01

Nanjing Dashengguan Bridge, which serves as the shared corridor crossing Yangtze River for both Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway and Shanghai-Wuhan-Chengdu railway, is the first 6-track high-speed railway bridge with the longest span throughout the world. In order to ensure safety and detect the performance deterioration during the long-time service of the bridge, a Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system has been implemented on this bridge by the application of modern techniques in sensing, testing, computing, and network communication. The SHM system includes various sensors as well as corresponding data acquisition and transmission equipment for automatic data collection. Furthermore, an evaluation system of structural safety has been developed for the real-time condition assessment of this bridge. The mathematical correlation models describing the overall structural behavior of the bridge can be obtained with the support of the health monitoring system, which includes cross-correlation models for accelerations, correlation models between temperature and static strains of steel truss arch, and correlation models between temperature and longitudinal displacements of piers. Some evaluation results using the mean value control chart based on mathematical correlation models are presented in this paper to show the effectiveness of this SHM system in detecting the bridge's abnormal behaviors under the varying environmental conditions such as high-speed trains and environmental temperature. PMID:26451387

An Embodied Approach to Understanding: Making Sense of the World Through Simulated Bodily Activity

PubMed Central

Soylu, Firat

2016-01-01

Even though understanding is a very widely used concept, both colloquially and in scholarly work, its definition is nebulous and it is not well-studied as a psychological construct, compared to other psychological constructs like learning and memory. Studying understanding based on third-person (e.g., behavioral, neuroimaging) data alone presents unique challenges. Understanding refers to a first-person experience of making sense of an event or a conceptual domain, and therefore requires incorporation of multiple levels of study, at the first-person (phenomenological), behavioral, and neural levels. Previously, psychological understanding was defined as a form of conscious knowing. Alternatively, biofunctional approach extends to unconscious, implicit, automatic, and intuitive aspects of cognition. Here, to bridge these two approaches an embodied and evolutionary perspective is provided to situate biofunctional understanding in theories of embodiment, and to discuss how simulation theories of cognition, which regard simulation of sensorimotor and affective states as a central tenet of cognition, can bridge the gap between biofunctional and psychological understanding. PMID:27999558

Excellence in Physics Education Award Talk: The Role of Physics Education Research in the Design and Assessment of Active Learning Curricula and Tools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thornton, Ronald

2010-02-01

For the Activity Based Physics Group (APB), research in student learning has been a cornerstone, for the past 22 years, of the development of activity-based curricula supported by real-time data collection, analysis, and modeling. This presentation, the first of three related talks, will focus on student learning, Priscilla Laws will describe the curriculum and tools developed, and David Sokoloff will describe dissemination efforts. One of the earliest examples of seminal research, done as part of the early MBL development for middle school at TERC, showed that delaying the display of a position-time graph by 10 seconds instead of displaying it in real-time resulted in a substantial learning decrease. This result assured the use of real-time data collection in our curricula. As we developed our early kinematics and dynamics curricula for college and high school, we interviewed many students before and after instruction, to understand where they started and what they had learned. We used the results of these interviews and written student explanations of their thinking to develop robust multiple-choice evaluations that were easy to give and allowed us to understand student thinking using both ``right and wrong'' responses. Work such as this resulted in Questions on Linear Motion, Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE), Heat and Temperature Conceptual Evaluation (HTCE), Electrical Circuit Conceptual Evaluation (ECCE), Light and Optics Conceptual Evaluation (LOCE) and others which guided our curriculum development and convinced many that standard instruction in physics did not result in substantial conceptual learning. Other evaluations measured mathematical understandings.evaluations also allowed us to look at a progression of student ideas as they learned (``Conceptual Dynamics''), study the behavior of students who did and did not learn conceptually (``Uncommon Knowledge''), study the efficacy of peer groups, and finally identify some of factors that led to conceptual learning for both women and men. (e.g. increases in spatial ability). )

Integrating modal-based NDE techniques and bridge management systems using quality management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sikorsky, Charles S.

1997-05-01

The intent of bridge management systems is to help engineers and managers determine when and where to spend bridge funds such that commerce and the motoring public needs are satisfied. A major shortcoming which states are experiencing is the NBIS data available is insufficient to perform certain functions required by new bridge management systems, such as modeling bridge deterioration and predicting costs. This paper will investigate how modal based nondestructive damage evaluation techniques can be integrated into bridge management using quality management principles. First, quality from the manufacturing perspective will be summarized. Next, the implementation of quality management in design and construction will be reinterpreted for bridge management. Based on this, a theory of approach will be formulated to improve the productivity of a highway transportation system.

A Conceptual Framework Curriculum Evaluation Electrical Engineering Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Imansari, Nurulita; Sutadji, Eddy

2017-01-01

This evaluation is a conceptual framework that has been analyzed in the hope that can help research related an evaluation of the curriculum. The Model of evaluation used was CIPPO model. CIPPO Model consists of "context," "input," "process," "product," and "outcomes." On the dimension of the…

Evaluation of lightweight high performance concrete in bulb-T beams and decks in two bridges on Route 33 in Virginia.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

Lightweight high performance concrete (LWHPC) is expected to provide high strength and high durability along with reduced weight. The purpose of this research was to evaluate and compare the prestressed LWHPC bulb-T beams and decks in two bridge stru...

Development of a smart timber bridge girder with fiber optic sensors

Treesearch

James Wacker; Ursula Deza; Brent M. Phares; Terry J. Wipf

2010-01-01

Past timber bridge evaluation and maintenance efforts in the USA have principally focused on the internal integrity of timber components using various non-destructive evaluation tools to supplement visual inspection data. This project is part of a comprehensive effort to develop smart structure concepts for improving the long-term performance, maintenance, and...

Evaluation of several types of curing and protective materials for concrete : final report on part II : installation report and initial condition survey of bridge decks.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1970-01-01

Thirty-nine test panels were installed on three interstate bridges to evaluate several combinations of curing and protective treatments for concrete. Panels were cured with white pigmented liquid membrane and white polyethylene, both with and without...

Integrated remote sensing and visualization (IRSV) system for transportation infrastructure operations and management, phase two, volume 3 : advanced consideration in LiDAR technology for bridge evaluation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-03-01

This report describes Phase Two enhancement of terrestrial LiDAR scanning for bridge damage : evaluation that was initially developed in Phase One. Considering the spatial and reflectivity : information contained in LiDAR scans, two detection algorit...

Conceptual design of tetraazaporphyrin- and subtetraazaporphyrin-based functional nanocarbon materials: electronic structures, topologies, optical properties, and methane storage capacities.

PubMed

Belosludov, Rodion V; Rhoda, Hannah M; Zhdanov, Ravil K; Belosludov, Vladimir R; Kawazoe, Yoshiyuki; Nemykin, Victor N

2016-05-11

A large variety of conceptual three- and fourfold tetraazaporphyrin- and subtetraazaporphyrin-based functional 3D nanocage and nanobarrel structures have been proposed on the basis of in silico design. The designed structures differ in their sizes, topology, porosity, and conjugation properties. The stability of nanocages of Oh symmetry and nanobarrels of D4h symmetry was revealed on the basis of DFT and MD calculations, whereas their optical properties were assessed using a TDDFT approach and a long-range corrected LC-wPBE exchange-correlation functional. It was shown that the electronic structures and vertical excitation energies of the functional nanocage and nanobarrel structures could be easily tuned via their size, topology, and the presence of bridging sp(3) carbon atoms. TDDFT calculations suggest significantly lower excitation energies in fully conjugated nanocages and nanobarrels compared with systems with bridging sp(3) carbon fragments. Based on DFT and TDDFT calculations, the optical properties of the new materials can rival those of known quantum dots and are superior to those of monomeric phthalocyanines and their analogues. The methane gas adsorption properties of the new nanostructures and nanotubes generated by conversion from nanobarrels were studied using an MD simulation approach. The ability to store large quantities of methane (106-216 cm(3) (STP) cm(-3)) was observed in all cases with several compounds being close to or exceeding the DOE target of 180 cm(3) (STP) cm(-3) for material-based methane storage at a pressure of 3.5 MPa and room temperature.

Evaluation of the performance of a press-lam timber bridge : bridge performance and load test after five years, final report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1982-01-01

The report describes the results of the load tests and summarizes the collection of data on the dimensional changes and moisture content of the press-lain members and the number and types of vehicles using the bridge. The results of the load tests su...

49 CFR Appendix A to Part 237 - Supplemental Statement of Agency Policy on the Safety of Railroad Bridges

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... conduct regular evaluations of railroad bridge inspection and management practices. The objective of these... condition, and the stresses imposed in those members by the service loads. (c) The factors which were used... provided: (i) The condition of the bridge has not changed significantly; and (ii) The stresses resulting...

Nondestructive assessment of timber bridges using a vibration-based method

Treesearch

Xiping Wang; James P. Wacker; Robert J. Ross; Brian K. Brashaw

2005-01-01

This paper describes an effort to develop a global dynamic testing technique for evaluating the overall stiffness of timber bridge superstructures. A forced vibration method was used to measure the natural frequency of single-span timber bridges in the laboratory and field. An analytical model based on simple beam theory was proposed to represent the relationship...

Managing Transitions, Building Bridges: An Evaluation of a Summer Bridge Program for African American Scientists and Engineers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Jennifer Michelle

2016-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to highlight the potential of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) summer bridge programs to promote college persistence by fostering a positive science identity among participants that is culturally consistent with the values and experiences of African American students. Design/methodology/approach:…

Effect of mechanical degradation of laminated elastomeric bearings and shear keys upon seismic behaviors of small-to-medium-span highway bridges in transverse direction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Gang; Wang, Kehai; Zhang, Panpan; Lu, Guanya

2018-01-01

Laminated elastomeric bearings have been widely used for small-to-medium-span highway bridges in China, in which concrete shear keys are set transversely to prohibit large girder displacement. To evaluate bridge seismic responses more accurately, proper analytical models of bearings and shear keys should be developed. Based on a series of cyclic loading experiments and analyses, rational analytical models of laminated elastomeric bearings and shear keys, which can consider mechanical degradation, were developed. The effect of the mechanical degradation was investigated by examining the seismic response of a small-to-medium-span bridge in the transverse direction under a wide range of peak ground accelerations (PGA). The damage mechanism for small-to-medium-span highway bridges was determined, which can explain the seismic damage investigation during earthquakes in recent years. The experimental results show that the mechanical properties of laminated elastomeric bearings will degrade due to friction sliding, but the degree of decrease is dependent upon the influencing parameters. It can be concluded that the mechanical degradation of laminated elastomeric bearings and shear keys play an important role in the seismic response of bridges. The degradation of mechanical properties of laminated elastomeric bearings and shear keys should be included to evaluate more precise bridge seismic performance.

Validating the Japanese Translation of the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation and Comparing Performance Levels of American and Japanese Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ishimoto, Michi; Thornton, Ronald K.; Sokoloff, David R.

2014-01-01

This study assesses the Japanese translation of the Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE). Researchers are often interested in comparing the conceptual ideas of students with different cultural backgrounds. The FMCE has been useful in identifying the concepts of English-speaking students from different backgrounds. To identify effectively…

The South Carolina bridge-scour envelope curves

USGS Publications Warehouse

Benedict, Stephen T.; Feaster, Toby D.; Caldwell, Andral W.

2016-09-30

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, conducted a series of three field investigations to evaluate historical, riverine bridge scour in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions of South Carolina. These investigations included data collected at 231 riverine bridges, which lead to the development of bridge-scour envelope curves for clear-water and live-bed components of scour. The application and limitations of the South Carolina bridge-scour envelope curves were documented in four reports, each report addressing selected components of bridge scour. The current investigation (2016) synthesizes the findings of these previous reports into a guidance manual providing an integrated procedure for applying the envelope curves. Additionally, the investigation provides limited verification for selected bridge-scour envelope curves by comparing them to field data collected outside of South Carolina from previously published sources. Although the bridge-scour envelope curves have limitations, they are useful supplementary tools for assessing the potential for scour at riverine bridges in South Carolina.

Bridge maintenance to enhance corrosion resistance and performance of steel girder bridges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moran Yanez, Luis M.

The integrity and efficiency of any national highway system relies on the condition of the various components. Bridges are fundamental elements of a highway system, representing an important investment and a strategic link that facilitates the transport of persons and goods. The cost to rehabilitate or replace a highway bridge represents an important expenditure to the owner, who needs to evaluate the correct time to assume that cost. Among the several factors that affect the condition of steel highway bridges, corrosion is identified as the main problem. In the USA corrosion is the primary cause of structurally deficient steel bridges. The benefit of regular high-pressure superstructure washing and spot painting were evaluated as effective maintenance activities to reduce the corrosion process. The effectiveness of steel girder washing was assessed by developing models of corrosion deterioration of composite steel girders and analyzing steel coupons at the laboratory under atmospheric corrosion for two alternatives: when high-pressure washing was performed and when washing was not considered. The effectiveness of spot painting was assessed by analyzing the corrosion on steel coupons, with small damages, unprotected and protected by spot painting. A parametric analysis of corroded steel girder bridges was considered. The emphasis was focused on the parametric analyses of corroded steel girder bridges under two alternatives: (a) when steel bridge girder washing is performed according to a particular frequency, and (b) when no bridge washing is performed to the girders. The reduction of structural capacity was observed for both alternatives along the structure service life, estimated at 100 years. An economic analysis, using the Life-Cycle Cost Analysis method, demonstrated that it is more cost-effective to perform steel girder washing as a scheduled maintenance activity in contrast to the no washing alternative.

Measuring healthcare integration: Operationalization of a framework for a systems evaluation of palliative care structures, processes, and outcomes.

PubMed

Bainbridge, Daryl; Brazil, Kevin; Ploeg, Jenny; Krueger, Paul; Taniguchi, Alan

2016-06-01

Healthcare integration is a priority in many countries, yet there remains little direction on how to systematically evaluate this construct to inform further development. The examination of community-based palliative care networks provides an ideal opportunity for the advancement of integration measures, in consideration of how fundamental provider cohesion is to effective care at end of life. This article presents a variable-oriented analysis from a theory-based case study of a palliative care network to help bridge the knowledge gap in integration measurement. Data from a mixed-methods case study were mapped to a conceptual framework for evaluating integrated palliative care and a visual array depicting the extent of key factors in the represented palliative care network was formulated. The study included data from 21 palliative care network administrators, 86 healthcare professionals, and 111 family caregivers, all from an established palliative care network in Ontario, Canada. The framework used to guide this research proved useful in assessing qualities of integration and functioning in the palliative care network. The resulting visual array of elements illustrates that while this network performed relatively well at the multiple levels considered, room for improvement exists, particularly in terms of interventions that could facilitate the sharing of information. This study, along with the other evaluative examples mentioned, represents important initial attempts at empirically and comprehensively examining network-integrated palliative care and healthcare integration in general. © The Author(s) 2016.

Development, verification, and application of a simplified method to estimate total-streambed scour at bridge sites in Illinois

USGS Publications Warehouse

Holmes, Robert R.; Dunn, Chad J.

1996-01-01

A simplified method to estimate total-streambed scour was developed for application to bridges in the State of Illinois. Scour envelope curves, developed as empirical relations between calculated total scour and bridge-site chracteristics for 213 State highway bridges in Illinois, are used in the method to estimate the 500-year flood scour. These 213 bridges, geographically distributed throughout Illinois, had been previously evaluated for streambed scour with the application of conventional hydraulic and scour-analysis methods recommended by the Federal Highway Administration. The bridge characteristics necessary for application of the simplified bridge scour-analysis method can be obtained from an office review of bridge plans, examination of topographic maps, and reconnaissance-level site inspection. The estimates computed with the simplified method generally resulted in a larger value of 500-year flood total-streambed scour than with the more detailed conventional method. The simplified method was successfully verified with a separate data set of 106 State highway bridges, which are geographically distributed throughout Illinois, and 15 county highway bridges.

Influence of microclimate on the sustainability and reliability of weathering steel bridge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubzova, M.; Krivy, V.; Kreislova, K.

2018-04-01

Reliability and sustainability of bridge structures designed from weathering steel are influenced by the development of a sufficiently protective layer of corrosion products on its surface. The development of this protective layer is affected by several parameters such as air pollution around the bridge structure, the microclimate under the bridge, the location of surface within the bridge structure and the time of wetness. Design of structural details also significantly influences the development of the protective corrosion layer. The article deals with the results of the experimental tests carried out on the road bridge located in the city of Ostrava in the Czech Republic. The development of the protective corrosion layer on the surface of the bridge is significantly influenced by the intensive traffic under the bridge construction and the design solution of the bridge itself. Attention is focused mainly on the influence of chloride deposition on the protective function of the corrosion layer. Corrosion samples were placed on the bridge to evaluate the influence of the above-mentioned parameters. The deposition rate of chlorides spreading from the road to surfaces of the steel structure is also measured.

Bridge Displacement Monitoring Method Based on Laser Projection-Sensing Technology

PubMed Central

Zhao, Xuefeng; Liu, Hao; Yu, Yan; Xu, Xiaodong; Hu, Weitong; Li, Mingchu; Ou, Jingping

2015-01-01

Bridge displacement is the most basic evaluation index of the health status of a bridge structure. The existing measurement methods for bridge displacement basically fail to realize long-term and real-time dynamic monitoring of bridge structures, because of the low degree of automation and the insufficient precision, causing bottlenecks and restriction. To solve this problem, we proposed a bridge displacement monitoring system based on laser projection-sensing technology. First, the laser spot recognition method was studied. Second, the software for the displacement monitoring system was developed. Finally, a series of experiments using this system were conducted, and the results show that such a system has high measurement accuracy and speed. We aim to develop a low-cost, high-accuracy and long-term monitoring method for bridge displacement based on these preliminary efforts. PMID:25871716

Synthesis and evaluation of lightweight concrete research relevant to the AASHTO LRFD bridge design specifications : identification of articles for further evaluation and potential revision.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-11-01

Much of the fundamental basis for the current lightweight concrete provisions in the AASHTO LRFD Bridge : Design Specifications is based on research of lightweight concrete (LWC) from the 1960s. The LWC that was : part of this research used tradition...

Application of the bridged crack model for evaluation of materials repairing and self-healing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perelmuter, M.

2017-12-01

The bridged crack model is used for analysis of repairing and self-healing of cracked structures. Material repairing is treated as insertions of external ligaments into cracks or placement of the reinforcing patches over cracks. Bonds destruction and regeneration at the crack bridged zone is evaluated by the thermo-fluctuation kinetic theory. The healing time is dependent on the chemical reaction rate of the healing agent, the crack size and the external loads. The decreasing of the stress intensity factors is used as the measure of the repairing and healing effects. The mathematical background of the problem solution is based on the methods of the singular integral-differential equations. The model can be used for the evaluation of composite materials durability.

Conceptual Knowledge Acquisition in Biomedicine: A Methodological Review

PubMed Central

Payne, Philip R.O.; Mendonça, Eneida A.; Johnson, Stephen B.; Starren, Justin B.

2007-01-01

The use of conceptual knowledge collections or structures within the biomedical domain is pervasive, spanning a variety of applications including controlled terminologies, semantic networks, ontologies, and database schemas. A number of theoretical constructs and practical methods or techniques support the development and evaluation of conceptual knowledge collections. This review will provide an overview of the current state of knowledge concerning conceptual knowledge acquisition, drawing from multiple contributing academic disciplines such as biomedicine, computer science, cognitive science, education, linguistics, semiotics, and psychology. In addition, multiple taxonomic approaches to the description and selection of conceptual knowledge acquisition and evaluation techniques will be proposed in order to partially address the apparent fragmentation of the current literature concerning this domain. PMID:17482521

Knowledge brokering: an innovative model for supporting evidence-informed practice in respiratory care.

PubMed

Hoens, Alison M; Reid, W Darlene; Camp, Pat G

2013-01-01

The process of adopting research findings in the clinical setting is challenging, regardless of the area of practice. One strategy to facilitate this process is the use of knowledge brokering. Knowledge brokers (KBs) are individuals who work to bridge the gap between researchers and knowledge users. In the health care setting, KBs work closely with clinicians to facilitate enhanced uptake of research findings into clinical practice. They also work with researchers to ensure research findings are translatable and meaningful to clinical practice. The present article discusses a KB's role in a respiratory care setting. Working closely with both researchers and clinicians, the KB has led teams in the process of conceptualizing, developing, testing, disseminating and evaluating several projects related to respiratory care, including projects related to mobility in critical care settings and acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; inspiratory muscle training; and the use of incentive spirometry in postsurgical populations. The KB role has provided an important communication link between researcher and knowledge user that has facilitated evidence-informed practice to improve patient care.

A conceptual model for training after-school program staffers to promote physical activity and nutrition.

PubMed

Weaver, Robert Glenn; Beets, Michael W; Webster, Collin; Beighle, Aaron; Huberty, Jennifer

2012-04-01

After-school programs (ASPs, 3 pm to 6 pm) have been called upon to increase the amount of daily physical activity children accumulate and improve the nutritional quality of the snacks served. To this end, state and national physical activity and nutrition (PAaN) policies have been proposed. Frontline staff who directly interact with children on a daily basis are charged with the responsibility to meet policy goals. Without appropriate skills, staffers' ability to achieve such goals is limited. The gap between policies and improvements in PAaN must be bridged through professional development training. This article describes the development of an ASP staff professional development training program. A systematic review was performed to identify relevant theoretical perspectives, empirical evidence, and recommended best practices relating to promoting PAaN of children. A comprehensive professional development framework was developed that incorporated the key elements identified from the review. These elements were distilled into 5 primary categories and conceptually referred to as the 5 Ms: mission-clearly defined policy/standards for PAaN; motivate-providing choices, developmentally appropriate activities, feedback, and encouragement; manage-structuring and managing the environment for safety, routines, and discipline; monitor-ongoing evaluation of PAaN; and maximize-incorporating all former Ms. The application of this training framework should lead to improved implementation and eventual achievement of policy goals for PAaN in ASPs. These competencies need to be developed in all ASPs if widespread improvements in PAaN within the ASP setting are to be realized. © 2012, American School Health Association.

Gratitude, hope, mindfulness and personal-growth initiative: buffers or risk factors for problem gambling?

PubMed

Loo, Jasmine M Y; Tsai, Jung-Shun; Raylu, Namrata; Oei, Tian P S

2014-01-01

The majority of prevention and intervention research in problem gambling (PG) has focused on identifying negative risk factors. However, not all at-risk individuals go on to develop anticipated disorders and many thrive in spite of them. In healthcare settings, PG and other disorders are typically conceptualized from the biomedical perspective that frame disorders as something negative residing within the individual and reduction in negativity is seen as success. Indeed, this problem-focused conceptualization may be adequate in many cases as reducing PG behaviour is undoubtedly an important outcome, but the focus on negativity alone is too narrow to capture the complexity of human behaviour. Hence, this study attempts to bridge the gap in literature by providing an evaluation of the predictive ability of the positive dispositions on problem gambling severity, gambling-related cognitions, and gambling urges. The positive psychological dispositions examined were curiosity, gratitude, hope, personal growth initiative, and mindfulness. Participants consisted of 801 Taiwanese Chinese students and community individuals (Mean age = 25.36 years). Higher levels of gratitude and hope have been found to predict lower PG, gambling-related cognitions, or gambling urges. Meanwhile, higher mindfulness predicted lower PG, but only among Chinese males. However, lower personal growth initiative predicted lower PG, gambling-related cognitions, and gambling urges. These analyses have small to medium effect sizes with significant predictions. Findings of this study have essential implications in understanding and treating Chinese problem gamblers. These positive dispositions should be addressed by mental health professionals in preventative and treatment programs among Chinese individuals. Further implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Design of 1 MHz Solid State High Frequency Power Supply

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parmar, Darshan; Singh, N. P.; Gajjar, Sandip; Thakar, Aruna; Patel, Amit; Raval, Bhavin; Dhola, Hitesh; Dave, Rasesh; Upadhay, Dishang; Gupta, Vikrant; Goswami, Niranjan; Mehta, Kush; Baruah, Ujjwal

2017-04-01

High Frequency Power supply (HFPS) is used for various applications like AM Transmitters, metallurgical applications, Wireless Power Transfer, RF Ion Sources etc. The Ion Source for a Neutral beam Injector at ITER-India uses inductively coupled power source at High Frequency (∼1 MHz). Switching converter based topology used to generate 1 MHz sinusoidal output is expected to have advantages on efficiency and reliability as compared to traditional RF Tetrode tubes based oscillators. In terms of Power Electronics, thermal and power coupling issues are major challenges at such a high frequency. A conceptual design for a 200 kW, 1 MHz power supply and a prototype design for a 600 W source been done. The prototype design is attempted with Class-E amplifier topology where a MOSFET is switched resonantly. The prototype uses two low power modules and a ferrite combiner to add the voltage and power at the output. Subsequently solution with Class-D H-Bridge configuration have been evaluated through simulation where module design is stable as switching device do not participate in resonance, further switching device voltage rating is substantially reduced. The rating of the modules is essentially driven by the maximum power handling capacity of the MOSFETs and ferrites in the combiner circuit. The output passive network including resonance tuned network and impedance matching network caters for soft switching and matches the load impedance to 50ohm respectively. This paper describes the conceptual design of a 200 kW high frequency power supply and experimental results of the prototype 600 W, 1 MHz source.

How parental dietary behavior and food parenting practices affect children's dietary behavior. Interacting sources of influence?

PubMed

Larsen, Junilla K; Hermans, Roel C J; Sleddens, Ester F C; Engels, Rutger C M E; Fisher, Jennifer O; Kremers, Stef P J

2015-06-01

Until now, the literatures on the effects of food parenting practices and parents' own dietary behavior on children's dietary behavior have largely been independent from one another. Integrating findings across these areas could provide insight on simultaneous and interacting influences on children's food intake. In this narrative review, we provide a conceptual model that bridges the gap between both literatures and consists of three main hypotheses. First, parental dietary behavior and food parenting practices are important interactive sources of influence on children's dietary behavior and Body Mass Index (BMI). Second, parental influences are importantly mediated by changes in the child's home food environment. Third, parenting context (i.e., parenting styles and differential parental treatment) moderates effects of food parenting practices, whereas child characteristics (i.e., temperament and appetitive traits) mainly moderate effects of the home food environment. Future studies testing (parts of) this conceptual model are needed to inform effective parent-child overweight preventive interventions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Performance management of multiple access communication networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Suk; Ray, Asok

1993-12-01

This paper focuses on conceptual design, development, and implementation of a performance management tool for computer communication networks to serve large-scale integrated systems. The objective is to improve the network performance in handling various types of messages by on-line adjustment of protocol parameters. The techniques of perturbation analysis of Discrete Event Dynamic Systems (DEDS), stochastic approximation (SA), and learning automata have been used in formulating the algorithm of performance management. The efficacy of the performance management tool has been demonstrated on a network testbed. The conceptual design presented in this paper offers a step forward to bridging the gap between management standards and users' demands for efficient network operations since most standards such as ISO (International Standards Organization) and IEEE address only the architecture, services, and interfaces for network management. The proposed concept of performance management can also be used as a general framework to assist design, operation, and management of various DEDS such as computer integrated manufacturing and battlefield C(sup 3) (Command, Control, and Communications).

The essential role of social theory in qualitative public health research.

PubMed

Willis, Karen; Daly, Jeanne; Kealy, Michelle; Small, Rhonda; Koutroulis, Glenda; Green, Julie; Gibbs, Lisa; Thomas, Samantha

2007-10-01

To define the role of social theory and examine how research studies using qualitative methods can use social theory to generalize their results beyond the setting of the study or to other social groups. The assumptions underlying public health research using qualitative methods derive from a range of social theories that include conflict theory, structural functionalism, symbolic interactionism, the sociology of knowledge and feminism. Depending on the research problem, these and other social theories provide conceptual tools and models for constructing a suitable research framework, and for collecting and analysing data. In combination with the substantive health literature, the theoretical literature provides the conceptual bridge that links the conclusions of the study to other social groups and settings. While descriptive studies using qualitative research methods can generate important insights into social experience, the use of social theory in the construction and conduct of research enables researchers to extrapolate their findings to settings and groups broader than the ones in which the research was conducted.

MASCOT - MATLAB Stability and Control Toolbox

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kenny, Sean; Crespo, Luis

2011-01-01

MASCOT software was created to provide the conceptual aircraft designer accurate predictions of air vehicle stability and control characteristics. The code takes as input mass property data in the form of an inertia tensor, aerodynamic loading data, and propulsion (i.e. thrust) loading data. Using fundamental non-linear equations of motion, MASCOT then calculates vehicle trim and static stability data for any desired flight condition. Common predefined flight conditions are included. The predefined flight conditions include six horizontal and six landing rotation conditions with varying options for engine out, crosswind and sideslip, plus three takeoff rotation conditions. Results are displayed through a unique graphical interface developed to provide stability and control information to the conceptual design engineers using a qualitative scale indicating whether the vehicle has acceptable, marginal, or unacceptable static stability characteristics. This software allows the user to prescribe the vehicle s CG location, mass, and inertia tensor so that any loading configuration between empty weight and maximum take-off weight can be analyzed. The required geometric and aerodynamic data as well as mass and inertia properties may be entered directly, passed through data files, or come from external programs such as Vehicle Sketch Pad (VSP). The current version of MASCOT has been tested with VSP used to compute the required data, which is then passed directly into the program. In VSP, the vehicle geometry is created and manipulated. The aerodynamic coefficients, stability and control derivatives, are calculated using VorLax, which is now available directly within VSP. MASCOT has been written exclusively using the technical computing language MATLAB . This innovation is able to bridge the gap between low-fidelity conceptual design and higher-fidelity stability and control analysis. This new tool enables the conceptual design engineer to include detailed static stability and trim constraints in the conceptual design loop. The unique graphical interface developed for this tool presents the stability data in a format that is understandable by the conceptual designer, yet also provides the detailed quantitative results if desired.

Nondestructive assessment of single-span timber bridges using a vibration- based method

Treesearch

Xiping Wang; James P. Wacker; Angus M. Morison; John W. Forsman; John R. Erickson; Robert J. Ross

2005-01-01

This paper describes an effort to develop a global dynamic testing technique for evaluating the overall stiffness of timber bridge superstructures. A forced vibration method was used to measure the natural frequency of single-span timber bridges in the laboratory and field. An analytical model based on simple beam theory was proposed to represent the relationship...

Natural canopy bridges effectively mitigate tropical forest fragmentation for arboreal mammals.

PubMed

Gregory, Tremaine; Carrasco-Rueda, Farah; Alonso, Alfonso; Kolowski, Joseph; Deichmann, Jessica L

2017-06-20

Linear infrastructure development and resulting habitat fragmentation are expanding in Neotropical forests, and arboreal mammals may be disproportionately impacted by these linear habitat clearings. Maintaining canopy connectivity through preservation of connecting branches (i.e. natural canopy bridges) may help mitigate that impact. Using camera traps, we evaluated crossing rates of a pipeline right-of-way in a control area with no bridges and in a test area where 13 bridges were left by the pipeline construction company. Monitoring all canopy crossing points for a year (7,102 canopy camera nights), we confirmed bridge use by 25 mammal species from 12 families. With bridge use beginning immediately after exposure and increasing over time, use rates were over two orders of magnitude higher than on the ground. We also found a positive relationship between a bridge's use rate and the number of species that used it, suggesting well-used bridges benefit multiple species. Data suggest bridge use may be related to a combination of bridge branch connectivity, multiple connections, connectivity to adjacent forest, and foliage cover. Given the high use rate and minimal cost, we recommend all linear infrastructure projects in forests with arboreal mammal populations include canopy bridges.

The RiverFish Approach to Business Process Modeling: Linking Business Steps to Control-Flow Patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuliane, Devanir; Oikawa, Marcio K.; Malkowski, Simon; Alcazar, José Perez; Ferreira, João Eduardo

Despite the recent advances in the area of Business Process Management (BPM), today’s business processes have largely been implemented without clearly defined conceptual modeling. This results in growing difficulties for identification, maintenance, and reuse of rules, processes, and control-flow patterns. To mitigate these problems in future implementations, we propose a new approach to business process modeling using conceptual schemas, which represent hierarchies of concepts for rules and processes shared among collaborating information systems. This methodology bridges the gap between conceptual model description and identification of actual control-flow patterns for workflow implementation. We identify modeling guidelines that are characterized by clear phase separation, step-by-step execution, and process building through diagrams and tables. The separation of business process modeling in seven mutually exclusive phases clearly delimits information technology from business expertise. The sequential execution of these phases leads to the step-by-step creation of complex control-flow graphs. The process model is refined through intuitive table and diagram generation in each phase. Not only does the rigorous application of our modeling framework minimize the impact of rule and process changes, but it also facilitates the identification and maintenance of control-flow patterns in BPM-based information system architectures.

"Sexuality? A million things come to mind": reflections on gender and sexuality by Chilean adolescents.

PubMed

Macintyre, Anna K-J; Montero Vega, Adela R; Sagbakken, Mette

2015-11-01

Although Chile is a traditionally conservative country, considerable legal advances in sexual and reproductive rights over the past decade have brought discourses on sexuality into mainstream political, social and media agendas. In light of these changes it is important to explore how adolescents conceptualize sexuality, which in turn influences their understanding of sexual rights. This study is based on four focus group discussions and 20 semi-structured interviews with adolescents, and seven interviews with key informants in Santiago, Chile. Findings indicate that adolescent conceptualizations of sexuality are diverse, often expressed as attitudes or observations of their social context, and primarily shaped by peers, parents and teachers. Attitudes towards individuals with non-heterosexual orientations ranged from support to rejection, and conceptualizations of sexual diversity were also influenced by media, medicalization and biological explanations. Gender differences in sexual expression were described through gendered language and behaviour, in particular observations of gender stereotypes, censored female sexuality and discourses highlighting female risk. Many adolescents described social change towards greater equality regarding gender and sexuality. To optimize this change and help bridge the gap between legal and social recognition of sexual rights, adolescents should be encouraged to reflect critically on issues of gender equality and sexual diversity in Chile. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Representational Realism, Closed Theories and the Quantum to Classical Limit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Ronde, Christian

In this chapter, we discuss the representational realist stance as a pluralistontic approach to inter-theoretic relationships. Our stance stresses the fact that physical theories require the necessary consideration of a conceptual level of discourse which determines and configures the specific field of phenomena discussed by each particular theory. We will criticize the orthodox line of research which has grounded the analysis about QM in two (Bohrian) metaphysical presuppositions - accepted in the present as dogmas that all interpretations must follow. We will also examine how the orthodox project of "bridging the gap" between the quantum and the classical domains has constrained the possibilities of research, producing only a limited set of interpretational problems which only focus in the justification of "classical reality" and exclude the possibility of analyzing the possibilities of non-classical conceptual representations of QM. The representational realist stance introduces two new problems, namely, the superposition problem and the contextuality problem, which consider explicitly the conceptual representation of orthodox QM beyond the mere reference to mathematical structures and measurement outcomes. In the final part of the chapter, we revisit, from representational realist perspective, the quantum to classical limit and the orthodox claim that this inter-theoretic relation can be explained through the principle of decoherence.

A cultural contracts perspective: examining American Indian identity negotiations in academia.

PubMed

Lamsam, Teresa Trumbly

2014-01-01

Education has played a central role in identity confusion, and to this day, it is used to assimilate American Indians. For those American Indians who persist through doctoral degrees and enter academe, resisting assimilation is especially risky and often tiresome. In this conceptual exploration of identity, Cultural Contracts theory serves to illuminate the path of the American Indian academic journey. Although never applied in an American Indian context, cultural contracts theory may provide a bridge between the seemingly disparate strains of identity research and leave us with a sense of scope and potential for the theory's application.

Statechart-based design controllers for FPGA partial reconfiguration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Łabiak, Grzegorz; Wegrzyn, Marek; Rosado Muñoz, Alfredo

2015-09-01

Statechart diagram and UML technique can be a vital part of early conceptual modeling. At the present time there is no much support in hardware design methodologies for reconfiguration features of reprogrammable devices. Authors try to bridge the gap between imprecise UML model and formal HDL description. The key concept in author's proposal is to describe the behavior of the digital controller by statechart diagrams and to map some parts of the behavior into reprogrammable logic by means of group of states which forms sequential automaton. The whole process is illustrated by the example with experimental results.

Evaluation of pier-scour equations for coarse-bed streams

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chase, Katherine J.; Holnbeck, Stephen R.

2004-01-01

Streambed scour at bridge piers is among the leading causes of bridge failure in the United States. Several pier-scour equations have been developed to calculate potential scour depths at existing and proposed bridges. Because many pier-scour equations are based on data from laboratory flumes and from cohesionless silt- and sand-bottomed streams, they tend to overestimate scour for piers in coarse-bed materials. Several equations have been developed to incorporate the mitigating effects of large particle sizes on pier scour, but further investigations are needed to evaluate how accurately pier-scour depths calculated by these equations match measured field data. This report, prepared in cooperation with the Montana Department of Transportation, describes the evaluation of five pier-scour equations for coarse-bed streams. Pier-scour and associated bridge-geometry, bed-material, and streamflow-measurement data at bridges over coarse-bed streams in Montana, Alaska, Maryland, Ohio, and Virginia were selected from the Bridge Scour Data Management System. Pier scour calculated using the Simplified Chinese equation, the Froehlich equation, the Froehlich design equation, the HEC-18/Jones equation and the HEC-18/Mueller equation for flood events with approximate recurrence intervals of less than 2 to 100 years were compared to 42 pier-scour measurements. Comparison of results showed that pier-scour depths calculated with the HEC-18/Mueller equation were seldom smaller than measured pier-scour depths. In addition, pier-scour depths calculated using the HEC-18/Mueller equation were closer to measured scour than for the other equations that did not underestimate pier scour. However, more data are needed from coarse-bed streams and from less frequent flood events to further evaluate pier-scour equations.

Applications of microcomputers in bridge design.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1986-01-01

The utilization of microcomputers in bridge design activities in state transportation departments was evaluated through contacts with 32 state agencies. While the present utilization of microcomputers was found to be limited, subsequent research show...

Two-Dimensional Analysis of Cable Stayed Bridge under Wave Loading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seeram, Madhuri; Manohar, Y.

2018-06-01

In the present study finite element analysis is performed for a modified fan type cable-stayed bridge using ANSYS Mechanical. A cable stayed bridge with two towers and main deck is considered for the present study. Dynamic analysis is performed to evaluate natural frequencies. The obtained natural frequencies and mode shapes of cable stayed bridge are compared to the existing results. Further studies have been conducted for offshore area application by increasing the pylon/tower height depending upon the water depth. Natural frequencies and mode shapes are evaluated for the cable stayed bridge for offshore area application. The results indicate that the natural periods are higher than the existing results due to the effect of increase in mass of the structure and decrease in stiffness of the pylon/tower. The cable stayed bridge is analyzed under various environmental loads such as dead, live, vehicle, seismic and wave loading. Morison equation is considered to evaluate the wave force. The sum of inertia and drag force is taken as the wave force distribution along the fluid interacting height of the pylon. Airy's wave theory is used to assess water particle kinematics, for the wave periods ranging from 5 to 20 s and unit wave height. The maximum wave force among the different regular waves is considered in the wave load case. The support reactions, moments and deflections for offshore area application are highlighted. It is observed that the maximum support reactions and support moments are obtained due to wave and earthquake loading respectively. Hence, it is concluded that the wave and earthquake forces shall be given significance in the design of cable stayed bridge.

Two-Dimensional Analysis of Cable Stayed Bridge under Wave Loading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seeram, Madhuri; Manohar, Y.

2018-02-01

In the present study finite element analysis is performed for a modified fan type cable-stayed bridge using ANSYS Mechanical. A cable stayed bridge with two towers and main deck is considered for the present study. Dynamic analysis is performed to evaluate natural frequencies. The obtained natural frequencies and mode shapes of cable stayed bridge are compared to the existing results. Further studies have been conducted for offshore area application by increasing the pylon/tower height depending upon the water depth. Natural frequencies and mode shapes are evaluated for the cable stayed bridge for offshore area application. The results indicate that the natural periods are higher than the existing results due to the effect of increase in mass of the structure and decrease in stiffness of the pylon/tower. The cable stayed bridge is analyzed under various environmental loads such as dead, live, vehicle, seismic and wave loading. Morison equation is considered to evaluate the wave force. The sum of inertia and drag force is taken as the wave force distribution along the fluid interacting height of the pylon. Airy's wave theory is used to assess water particle kinematics, for the wave periods ranging from 5 to 20 s and unit wave height. The maximum wave force among the different regular waves is considered in the wave load case. The support reactions, moments and deflections for offshore area application are highlighted. It is observed that the maximum support reactions and support moments are obtained due to wave and earthquake loading respectively. Hence, it is concluded that the wave and earthquake forces shall be given significance in the design of cable stayed bridge.

[Utility of conceptual schemes and mental maps on the teaching-learning process of residents in pediatrics].

PubMed

Cruza, Norberto Sotelo; Fierros, Luis E

2006-01-01

The present study was done at the internal medicine service oft he Hospital lnfantil in the State of Sonora, Mexico. We tried to address the question of the use of conceptual schemes and mind maps and its impact on the teaching-learning-evaluation process among medical residents. Analyze the effects of conceptual schemes, and mind maps as a teaching and evaluation tool and compare them with multiple choice exams among Pediatric residents. Twenty two residents (RI, RII, RIII)on service rotation during six months were assessed initially, followed by a lecture on a medical subject. Conceptual schemes and mind maps were then introduced as a teaching-learning-evaluation instrument. Comprehension impact and comparison with a standard multiple choice evaluation was done. The statistical package (JMP version 5, SAS inst. 2004) was used. We noted that when we used conceptual schemes and mind mapping, learning improvement was noticeable among the three groups of residents (P < 0.001) and constitutes a better evaluation tool when compared with multiple choice exams (P < 0.0005). Based on our experience we recommend the use of this educational technique for medical residents in training.

Getting Ready for College: An Implementation and Early Impacts Study of Eight Texas Developmental Summer Bridge Programs. NCPR Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wathington, Heather D.; Barnett, Elisabeth A.; Weissman, Evan; Teres, Jedediah; Pretlow, Joshua; Nakanishi, Aki

2011-01-01

In 2009, the National Center for Postsecondary Research (NCPR) launched an evaluation of eight developmental summer bridge programs in Texas to assess whether these programs reduce the need for developmental coursework and improve student outcomes in college. The evaluation uses an experimental design to measure the effects of these programs on…

Condition assessment of timber bridges. 1, Evaluation of a micro-drilling resistance tool

Treesearch

Brian K. Brashaw; Robert J. Vatalaro; James P. Wacker; Robert J. Ross

2005-01-01

The research presented in this report was conducted to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of a commercially available micro-drilling resistance device, the IML RESI F300-S (Instrument Mechanic Labor, Inc., Kennesaw, Georgia), in locating deteriorated areas in timber bridge members. The device records drilling resistance as a function of drilling depth, which allows...

Bridging the Experiential Learning Gap: An Evaluation of the Impacts of Ulster University's Senior Student Tutoring Scheme on First Year Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eaton, Martin D.

2015-01-01

Since 2004-05 first year students at the School of Environmental Sciences, Ulster University have engaged with senior student tutors (SSTs) in workshop activities aimed at preparations for their written examinations. Using a pedagogical action research methodology we evaluated the role of SSTs in bridging the experiential learning gap between…

Development of a nondestructive evaluation method for FRP bridge decks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Jeff; Fox, Terra

2010-05-01

Open steel grids are typically used on bridges to minimize the weight of the bridge deck and wearing surface. These grids, however, require frequent maintenance and exhibit other durability concerns related to fatigue cracking and corrosion. Bridge decks constructed from composite materials, such as a Fiber-reinforced Polymer (FRP), are strong and lightweight; they also offer improved rideability, reduced noise levels, less maintenance, and are relatively easy to install compared to steel grids. This research is aimed at developing an inspection protocol for FRP bridge decks using Infrared thermography. The finite element method was used to simulate the heat transfer process and determine optimal heating and data acquisition parameters that will be used to inspect FRP bridge decks in the field. It was demonstrated that thermal imaging could successfully identify features of the FRP bridge deck to depths of 1.7 cm using a phase analysis process.

The association of sacroiliac joint bridging with other enthesopathies in the human body.

PubMed

Dar, Gali; Peleg, Smadar; Masharawi, Youssef; Steinberg, Nili; Rothschild, Bruce M; Hershkovitz, Israel

2007-05-01

A descriptive study of the association between sacroiliac joint (extra-articular) bridging and other enthesopathies. To examine the relationship between sacroiliac joint bridging with other entheseal reaction sites in the skeleton, and its prognostic value in spinal diseases. Sacroiliac joint bridging is considered a hallmark of spinal diseases (e.g., ankylosing spondylitis). Nevertheless, its association with other enthesopathies has never been quantified and analyzed. A total of 289 human male skeletons with sacroiliac joint bridging and 127 without (of similar demographic structure) were evaluated for the presence of entheseal ossification, cartilaginous calcification, and other axial skeleton joint fusion (a total of 18 anatomic sites). The presence of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis and spondyloarthropathy was also recorded. Sacroiliac joint bridging was strongly associated with entheseal reactions in other parts of the body. Of the sacroiliac joint bridging group, 24.91% had diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis, and 8.05% had spondyloarthropathy. The presence of sacroiliac joint bridging indicates an intensive general entheseal process in the skeleton.

Talking about quality: exploring how 'quality' is conceptualized in European hospitals and healthcare systems.

PubMed

Wiig, Siri; Aase, Karina; von Plessen, Christian; Burnett, Susan; Nunes, Francisco; Weggelaar, Anne Marie; Anderson-Gare, Boel; Calltorp, Johan; Fulop, Naomi

2014-10-11

Conceptualization of quality of care - in terms of what individuals, groups and organizations include in their meaning of quality, is an unexplored research area. It is important to understand how quality is conceptualised as a means to successfully implement improvement efforts and bridge potential disconnect in language about quality between system levels, professions, and clinical services. The aim is therefore to explore and compare conceptualization of quality among national bodies (macro level), senior hospital managers (meso level), and professional groups within clinical micro systems (micro level) in a cross-national study. This cross-national multi-level case study combines analysis of national policy documents and regulations at the macro level with semi-structured interviews (383) and non-participant observation (803 hours) of key meetings and shadowing of staff at the meso and micro levels in ten purposively sampled European hospitals (England, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and Norway). Fieldwork at the meso and micro levels was undertaken over a 12-month period (2011-2012) and different types of micro systems were included (maternity, oncology, orthopaedics, elderly care, intensive care, and geriatrics). The three quality dimensions clinical effectiveness, patient safety, and patient experience were incorporated in macro level policies in all countries. Senior hospital managers adopted a similar conceptualization, but also included efficiency and costs in their conceptualization of quality. 'Quality' in the forms of measuring indicators and performance management were dominant among senior hospital managers (with clinical and non-clinical background). The differential emphasis on the three quality dimensions was strongly linked to professional roles, personal ideas, and beliefs at the micro level. Clinical effectiveness was dominant among physicians (evidence-based approach), while patient experience was dominant among nurses (patient-centered care, enough time to talk with patients). Conceptualization varied between micro systems depending on the type of services provided. The quality conceptualization differed across system levels (macro-meso-micro), among professional groups (nurses, doctors, managers), and between the studied micro systems in our ten sampled European hospitals. This entails a managerial alignment challenge translating macro level quality definitions into different local contexts.

Inspection of timber bridges using stress wave timing nondestructive evaluation tools : a guide for use and interpretation

Treesearch

Robert J. Ross; Roy F. Pellerin; Norbert Volny; William W. Salsig; Robert H. Falk

1999-01-01

This guide was prepared to assist inspectors in the use of stress wave timing instruments and the various methods of locating and defining areas of decay in timber bridge members. The first two sections provide (a) background information regarding conventional methods to locate and measure decay in timber bridges and (b) the principles of stress wave nondestructive...

Development of flexural vibration inspection techniques to rapidly assess the structural health of timber bridge systems

Treesearch

Xiping Wang; James P. Wacker; Robert J. Ross; Brian K. Brashaw; Robert Vatalaro

2005-01-01

This paper describes an effort to develop a global dynamic testing technique for evaluating the overall stiffness of timber bridge superstructures. A forced vibration method was used to measure the natural frequency of single-span timber bridges in the laboratory and field. An analytical model based on simple beam theory was proposed to represent the relationship...

Integrated remote sensing and visualization (IRSV) system for transportation infrastructure operations and management, phase two, volume 2 : applications of LiDAR technology in structural evaluation under normal traffic operation and post blast loading.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-03-01

This report focused on two potential applications of terrestrial LiDAR scans on highway : bridges: 1) vehicle crossing effects measured by3-D, terrestrial LiDAR scans of highway bridges : measuring clearance distance; and 2) bridge post-blast geometr...

Phosphonate Pendant Armed Propylene Cross-Bridged Cyclam: Synthesis and Evaluation as a Chelator for Cu-64

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

A propylene cross-bridged macrocyclic chelator with two phosphonate pendant arms (PCB-TE2P) was synthesized from cyclam. Various properties of the synthesized chelator, including Cu-complexation, Cu-complex stability, 64Cu-radiolabeling, and in vivo behavior, were studied and compared with those of a previously reported propylene cross-bridged chelator (PCB-TE2A). PMID:26617972

Dynamic bridge substructure evaluation and monitoring

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-09-01

This research project was funded to investigate the possibility that, by measuring and modeling the dynamic response characteristics of a bridge substructure, it might be possible to determine the condition and safety of the substructure and identify...

Structural characterization of UHPC waffle bridge deck and connections : [tech transfer summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-07-01

Contribute to design an innovative and durable precast deck alternative : using ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) for accelerated bridge : construction : Evaluate the structural characteristics of the UHPC waffle deck, : critical connect...

Evaluation of stainless steel reinforcement construction project

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2003-02-01

Stainless steel reinforcement has greater corrosion resistance than that of the conventional reinforcement. In this project, bridge A6059, the first in Missouri utilizing stainless steel reinforcement in the deck, was constructed, along with bridge A...

Long term striping alternatives for bridge decks : final report, January 2009.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-01-01

This study evaluated the performance of the following pavement marking materials on Portland cement concrete bridge decks: Waterborne traffic paint: Ennis fast dry waterborne traffic paint; Thermoplastic: Swarcotherm alkyd; Preformed thermoplastic: P...

Evaluation of DOTD semi-integral bridge and abutment system.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-03-01

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) designed and constructed its first prototype semi-integral abutment bridge in 1989. In this design, large longitudinal movements due to expansion and contraction, creep, shrinkage, a...

Evaluation of bridge deck with shrinkage-compensating concrete.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-04-01

Concrete bridge decks are susceptible to premature cracking and to corrosion of reinforcing steel. Low-permeability : concrete does not always ensure durability if the concrete has excessive cracks that facilitate the intrusion of aggressive solution...

Bridge deck performance in Virginia.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1971-01-01

One of the most comprehensive programs for the evaluation and definition of the performance of concrete in bridge decks was that undertaken cooperatively by the Portland Cement Association, the Bureau of Public Roads, and eight states distributed thr...

Reliability of Visual Inspection for Highway Bridges, Volume I : Final Report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-06-01

This technical summary announces the findings of an investigation by the Federal Highway Administrations Nondestructive Evaluation Validation Center (NDEVC) concerning the reliability of Visual Inspection for highway bridges. Details and results a...

Structural monitoring of Rigolets Pass Bridge.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-10-01

The overall objective of this research project was to evaluate the structural behavior of prestressed highperformance : concrete (HPC) long-span bulb-tee girders utilized in Louisiana bridge construction. To : accomplish this objective, one span of t...

Lightweight solid decks for movable bridges : [summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-04-01

Florida International University researchers investigated a number of alternative bridge deck systems, which had been evaluated in prior research, to lay a complete foundation for further design and implementation procedures. The main objectives of t...

Test Structures For Bumpy Integrated Circuits

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buehler, Martin G.; Sayah, Hoshyar R.

1989-01-01

Cross-bridge resistors added to comb and serpentine patterns. Improved combination of test structures built into integrated circuit used to evaluate design rules, fabrication processes, and quality of interconnections. Consist of meshing serpentines and combs, and cross bridge. Structures used to make electrical measurements revealing defects in design or fabrication. Combination of test structures includes three comb arrays, two serpentine arrays, and cross bridge. Made of aluminum or polycrystalline silicon, depending on material in integrated-circuit layers evaluated. Aluminum combs and serpentine arrays deposited over steps made by polycrystalline silicon and diffusion layers, while polycrystalline silicon versions of these structures used to cross over steps made by thick oxide layer.

Use and selection of bridges as day roosts by Rafinesque's Big Eared Bats.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bennett, Frances, M.; Loeb, Susan, C.; Bunch, Mary, S.

ABSTRACT.—Rafinesque’s big-eared bats (Corynorhinus rafinesquii) use bridges as day roosts in parts of their range, but information on bridge use across their range is lacking. From May to Aug. 2002 we surveyed 1129 bridges (12.5%) within all 46 counties of South Carolina to determine use and selection of bridges as day roosts by big-eared bats and to document their distribution across the state. During summer 2003, we visited 235 bridges in previously occupied areas of the state to evaluate short-term fidelity to bridge roosts. We found colonies and solitary big-eared bats beneath 38 bridges in 2002 and 54 bridges inmore » 2003. Construction type and size of bridges strongly influenced use in both years; bats selected large, concrete girder bridges and avoided flat-bottomed slab bridges. The majority of occupied bridges (94.7%) were in the Upper and Lower Coastal Plains, but a few bridges (5.3%) were located in the Piedmont. Rafinesque’s big-eared bats were absent beneath bridges in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We established new records of occurrence for 10 counties. In the Coastal Plains, big-eared bats exhibited a high degree of short-term fidelity to roosts in highway bridges. For bridges that were occupied at least once, mean frequency of use was 65.9%. Probability of finding bats under a bridge ranged from 0.46 to 0.73 depending on whether the bridge was occupied in the previous year. Thus, bridges should be inspected three to five times in a given year to determine whether they are being used. Regional bridge roost surveys may be a good method for determining the distribution of C. rafinesquii, particularly in the Coastal Plains, and protection of suitable bridges may be a viable conservation strategy where natural roost sites are limited.« less

Conceptual dissonance: evaluating the efficacy of natural language processing techniques for validating translational knowledge constructs.

PubMed

Payne, Philip R O; Kwok, Alan; Dhaval, Rakesh; Borlawsky, Tara B

2009-03-01

The conduct of large-scale translational studies presents significant challenges related to the storage, management and analysis of integrative data sets. Ideally, the application of methodologies such as conceptual knowledge discovery in databases (CKDD) provides a means for moving beyond intuitive hypothesis discovery and testing in such data sets, and towards the high-throughput generation and evaluation of knowledge-anchored relationships between complex bio-molecular and phenotypic variables. However, the induction of such high-throughput hypotheses is non-trivial, and requires correspondingly high-throughput validation methodologies. In this manuscript, we describe an evaluation of the efficacy of a natural language processing-based approach to validating such hypotheses. As part of this evaluation, we will examine a phenomenon that we have labeled as "Conceptual Dissonance" in which conceptual knowledge derived from two or more sources of comparable scope and granularity cannot be readily integrated or compared using conventional methods and automated tools.

Guidelines for conceptual design and evaluation of aquifer thermal energy storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, C. F.; Hauz, W.

1980-10-01

Guidelines are presented for use as a tool by those considering application of aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) technology. The guidelines assist utilities, municipalities, industries, and other entities in the conceptual design and evaluation of systems employing ATES. The potential benefits of ATES are described, an overview is presented of the technology and its applications, and rules of thumb are provided for quickly judging whether a proposed project has sufficient promise to warrant detailed conceptual design and evaluation. The characteristics of sources and end uses of heat and chill which are seasonally mismatched and may benefit from ATES are discussed. Storage and transport subsystems and their expected performance and cost are described. A methodology is presented for conceptual design of an ATES system and evaluation of its technical and economic feasibility in terms of energy conservation, cost savings, fuel substitution, improved dependability of supply, and abatement of pollution.

Corrosion evaluation of novel coatings for steel components of highway bridges.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-03-01

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) had expressed interest in gauging the available coating : technologies that may have suitable applications for steel components in highway bridges. The motivation was to : possibly identify coating syst...

Evaluation and repair of existing bridges in extreme environments.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-01-26

The research described in this report consisted of analysis and experimental testing of steel bridge details susceptible to fatigue and end regions of precast prestressed concrete girder ends subjected to reinforcement corrosion. Locations most affec...

Internally cured concrete for pavement and bridge deck applications.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-07-01

A laboratory and field testing program was conducted to evaluate the performance and usability of internally : cured concrete (ICC) using lightweight aggregates for bridge decks and concrete pavement slabs under Florida : conditions. The laboratory t...

The South Carolina bridge-scour envelope curves.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-09-23

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, conducted a series of three field investigations to evaluate historical, riverine bridge scour in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions of South Carolin...