The combined effects of carbonation and chloride attack can accelerate the degradation reinforced concrete (RC) structures. In this study, effect natural on binding behaviours in Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) paste was investigated. phase-equilibrium model for dissolution/precipitation reactions surface complexation ionic adsorption C–S–H were adopted. An experiment from literature used as ben...

Is our nation safe from terrorist attacks? This paper examines the effectiveness of U.S. federal grants in reducing domestic vulnerability to terrorism since the 9/11 attacks. I derive a model for allocating federal funds to States based on targets within the State, the government budget, and three parameters specific to a target type the probability of attack, the expected damage upon attack, ...

N-acyl-L-homoserine lactone hydrolase (AHL lactonase) is a dinuclear zinc enzyme responsible for the hydrolytic ring opening of AHLs, disrupting quorum sensing in bacteria. The reaction mechanism is investigated using hybrid density functional theory. A model of the active site is designed on the basis of the X-ray crystal structure, and stationary points along the reaction pathway are optimize...

The paper surveys the various economic costs associated with terrorism. Particularly important is the distinction between the direct and the indirect costs. While many terrorist attacks cause substantial amounts of property damage and create casualties, most of the costs associated with terrorism involve the indirect costs. Although terrorism can reduce a nation’s overall growth rate, the costs...

Caffeine functions in the chemical defense against biotic attackers in a few plant species, including coffee and tea. Transgenic tobacco plants that endogenously produced caffeine by expressing three N-methyltransferases involved in the caffeine biosynthesis pathway exhibited a strong resistance to pathogens and herbivores. Here we report that transgenic Chrysanthemum, which produced an equival...