The main design criteria of ballasted railway tracks include rail deflections, rail bending stresses, rail wheel contact stresses, sleeper bending moments and ballast sleeper contact pressures. Numerous criteria have been defined for the design of ballasted railway tracks owing to the various mechanical properties of track components and their complex interaction. Therefore, railway track desig...

AIM To examine sleep quality and its determinants among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS This is a cross-sectional study conducted among diabetic patients referring to Ardabil diabetes clinic in Northwest of Iran. Information on sleep quality was collected using Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). A questionnaire was used to collect data on sociodemographic lifestyle fac...

The role of the media in the creation of distrust is much debated in political communication. Will negative news, for example, relentless attacks on political authorities, result in political cynicism or in a stimulation effect? By and large the media may stimulate political participation,but it is less clear when negative news will nullify this effect. Negative news may not only have short-ter...

A constitutive model based on plasticity theory with a non-associative flow rule has been developed. The model is formulated in terms of sleeper displacements and forces, and includes hardening and softening controlled by irreversible transversal (lateral and longitudinal) sleeper displacements. The model has been calibrated using results from lateral and longitudinal ballast resistance tests c...

The construction industry generates a considerable amount of waste. Faced with this undesirable situation, the ready-mix concrete sector, in particular, has invested energy and resources into reusing its own waste in its production process as it works towards the goal of more sustainable construction. This study examines the feasibility of incorporating two types of concrete waste, which curren...

The susceptibility of structural concrete to early-age cracking depends on material composition, methods of processing, structural boundary conditions, and a variety of environmental factors. Computational modeling offers a means for identifying primary factors and strategies for reducing cracking potential. Herein, lattice models are shown to be adept at simulating the thermal-hygral-mechanica...

This paper presents the residual mechanical properties of concrete made with crushed bricks and clay roof tile aggregates after exposure to high temperatures. One referent mixture and eight mixtures with different percentages of replacement of natural aggregate by crushed bricks and roof tiles are experimentally tested. The properties of the concrete were measured before and after exposure to 2...

We analyze a signature scheme described in a recent Internet Draft, and highlight a variant (based on prior work of Micali and Leighton) that offers improved concrete security.

Recycled demolished concrete (DC) as recycled aggregate (RA) and recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) is generally suitable for most construction applications. Low-grade applications, including sub-base and roadwork, have been implemented in many countries; however, higher-grade activities are rarely considered. This paper examines relationships among DC characteristics, properties of their RA and...