three-dimensional surface geometry of rock discontinuities and its evolution with shearing are of great importance in understanding the deformability and hydro-mechanical behavior of rock masses. in the present research, surfaces of three natural rock fractures were digitized and studied before and after the direct shear test. the variography analysis of the surfaces indicated a strong non-line...

Three-dimensional surface geometry of rock discontinuities and its evolution with shearing are of great importance in understanding the deformability and hydro-mechanical behavior of rock masses. In the present research, surfaces of three natural rock fractures were digitized and studied before and after the direct shear test. The variography analysis of the surfaces indicated a strong non-line...

OBJECTIVE To provide evidence for the hypothesis that the loss of tensile strength of osteoarthritic (OA) cartilage (resulting in swelling-the hallmark of OA) is due to an impaired collagen network and not to loss or degradation of proteoglycans. METHODS The amount of degraded collagen molecules, the fixed charge density (FCD) on a dry-weight basis, the degree of swelling in saline, and the i...

This study evaluated the relationship between the indices known as the Reef Health Index (RHI) and two-dimensional Coral Health Index (2D-CHI) and different representative metrics of biological, ecological and functional diversity of fish and corals in 101 reef sites located across seven zones in the western Caribbean Sea. Species richness and average taxonomic distinctness were used to asses b...

A system that can continue critical operations, perhaps in a degraded mode, in the face of a partially successful cyber attack can be termed “intrusion tolerant.” The workshop will provide a forum for the presentation and discussion of current efforts to develop subsystems and systems that display some degree of intrusion tolerance. The workshop will also provide the opportunity for demonstrati...

J. Kihara et al. (eds.), Improving Soil Fertility Recommendations in Africa using the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT), DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-2960-5_3, © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2012 Abstract Africa is the continent with the lowest fertilizer use per hectare notwithstanding the fact it possesses geologically old, infertile and degraded soils. This c...

This article presents the current state of pasture ecosystems foothill and mountain zones, preservation their biodiversity ways to increase productivity degraded pastures ensure stable development animal husbandry, methods improving through sowing long-term drought-resistant forage plants.