The current design method of ultimate capacity beam string structure (BSS) is mainly based on the fixed load ratio (FLR) criterion, seldom considers effect random (RLR) bearing capacity. This paper compared coefficient variation (COV) obtained by RLR criterion with that FLR criterion. It indicates properties have a significant impact COV and should be accounted for. A more realistic limit state...

BACKGROUND Spirometric parameters are the mainstay for diagnosis of COPD, but cannot distinguish airway obstruction from emphysema. We aimed to develop a computer model that quantifies airway collapse on forced expiratory flow-volume loops. We then explored and validated the relationship of airway collapse with computed tomography (CT) diagnosed emphysema in two large independent cohorts. MET...

Habitat fragmentation is the primary cause of the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, but its underlying processes and mechanisms remain poorly understood. Studies of islands and insular terrestrial habitats are essential for improving our understanding of habitat fragmentation. We argue that the Three-Gorges Dam, the largest that humans have ever created, presents a unique grand-scale...

This paper is motivated by the following two related problems in complex networks: (i) control of cascading failures and (ii) mitigation of traffic congestion. Both problems are of significant recent interest as they address, respectively, the security of and efficient information transmission on complex networks. Taking into account typical features of load distribution and weights in real-wor...

We study the propagation of cascading failures in complex supply networks with a focus on nonlocal effects occurring far away from the initial failure. It is shown that a high clustering and a small average path length of a network generally suppress nonlocal overloads. These properties are typical for many real-world networks, often called small-world networks, such that cascades propagate mos...

Pomelos (Citrus maxima) are known for their thick peel which-inter alia-serves as energy dissipator when fruits impact on the ground after being shed. It protects the fruit from splitting open and thus enables the contained seeds to stay germinable and to potentially be dispersed by animal vectors. The main part of the peel consists of a parenchymatous tissue that can be interpreted from a mate...

The diving physiology of aquatic animals at sea began 50 years ago with studies of the Weddell seal. Even today with the advancements in marine recording and tracking technology, only a few species are suitable for investigation. The first experiments were in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. In this paper are examples of what was learned in Antarctica and elsewhere. Some methods employed relied on wi...

Infills can highly influence the seismic response of a Reinforced Concrete (RC) building: generally speaking, their presence leads to an increase in global stiffness and strength, but their brittle behavior can result in an increase of displacement demand if a certain threshold of seismic intensity is overcome. Moreover, presence of infills often leads to a change in the collapse mechanism comp...