Knowledge of larval behaviours of sessile marine invertebrates from release to recruitment and of the role these behaviours play in determining adult distributions is limited. In manipulative experiments using larvae from the Great Barrier Reef sponge Rhopaloeides odorabile, we quantified larval behaviours associated with vertical migration, phototaxis and swimming ability. We also measured set...

For sessile marine invertebrates with complex life cycles, habitat choice is directed by the larval phase. Defining which habitat-linked cues are implicated in sessile invertebrate larval settlement has largely concentrated on chemical cues which are thought to signal optimal habitat. There has been less effort establishing physical settlement cues, including the role of surface microtopography...

In laboratory-based biofouling assays, the influence of physico-chemical surface characteristics on barnacle settlement has been tested most frequently using the model organism Balanus amphitrite (= Amphibalanus amphitrite). Very few studies have addressed the settlement preferences of other barnacle species, such as Balanus improvisus (= Amphibalanus improvisus). This study aimed to unravel th...

This paper presents a preliminary study on the system reliability for the geotechnical design of braced excavations in soft clays. In this system reliability geotechnical analysis, both ultimate limit state (ULS) and serviceability limit state (SLS) are considered. Herein, the ULS failure refers to the basal heave failure, while the SLS failure refers to failures sue to excessive ground-surface...

Losers and Losers: Some Demographics of Medical Malpractice Tort Reforms Our research examines individual differences in the effects of medical malpractice tort reforms on pre-trial settlement speed and settlement amounts by age and most likely settlement size. Findings of note include that, unlike previously assumed, both absolute and percentage losses from tort reform are small for infants in...

dumpsites can produce serious pollution problems in soil, water and air, and are the most frequent method of solid waste disposal in many developing countries. one of the pollution concerns at dumpsites is the emission of methane, which has been identified as a green house gas. in order to determine the surface emission of methane at an informal settlement built on a former dumpsite, six sampli...

Three-dimensional model is established with finite difference method to simulate construction process based on design and construction plans of existing overpass pile foundation adjacent to certain large-section railway tunnel in Chengdu, China. Ground, isolation pile, main bridge pier and ramp pile near the tunnel are taken as research object, and surface settlement amount, displacement change...

The expansion of the settlement trough is an important factor in the risk assessment of the tunneling induced settlement. The increase of settlement trough requires buildings to be included in the impact zone, which causes damages. This paper conducts estimation of the settlement trough width (STW) using empirical approaches, field measurement data and numerical solutions. The credibility of th...

Ground settlement is often the most serious concern when tunneling under an old city with numerous historic monuments. A successful engineering design under these conditions would require getting the most out of the ground strength parameters and avoiding any weakening maneuver throughout the operation. Knowing that surface settlement is highly affected by tunneling parameters in EPB shield tun...