Reduction

A fully automated design methodology based on nonlinear response history analysis is proposed for the optimum seismic design of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. The conventional trial-and-error process is replaced by a structural optimization algorithm that serves as a search engine capable of locating the most efficient design in terms of cost and performance. Two variations of the proposed design methodology are introduced. The first approach treats the optimum design problem in a deterministic manner, while in the second variation the optimum design is sought in the framework of a reliability-based optimization problem. The reliability-based approach seems to be a more rational procedure since more meaningful design criteria that correlate better with the performance-based design concept can be adopted. Thus, the practice of using the mean annual frequency of a limit-state being exceeded to assess the candidate designs is compared with the use of deterministic criteria. Both ...

Vegetation cover is a heterogeneous medium composed of different kinds of fuels and non-combustible parts. Some properties of real fires arise from this heterogeneity. Creating heterogeneous fuel areas may be useful both in land management and in firefighting by reducing fire intensity and fire rate of spread. The spreading of a fire through a heterogeneous medium was studied with a two-dimensional reaction–diffusion physical model of fire spread. Randomly distributed combustible and non-combustible square elements constituted the heterogeneous fuel. Two main characteristics of the fire were directly computed by the model: the size of the zone influenced by the heat transferred from the fire front and the ignition condition of vegetation. The model was able to provide rate of fire spread, temperature distribution and energy transfers. The influence on the fire properties of the ratio between the amount of combustible elements and the total amount of elements was studied. The results...

broadcast a report about the custom of clitoridectomy in Egypt. The televised report included footage of such a ceremony performed on a ten-year-old Egyptian girl in Cairo a few days earlier. This broadcast revived the public polemics on clitoridectomy in Egypt. Secular newspapers such as al-Wafd and al-Ahali opposed this practice while religious circles used the al-Sha’b newspaper to justify it. The religious argument is based on Islamic tradition although the origin of the practice is admittedly pre-Islamic. This position maintains that the type of clitoridectomy performed involves minimal excision, but in practice it is much more radical. There are voices from within the Islamic camp, mainly those of women, that call for the abolition of this practice, basing this demand on the fact that this act is a minor rather than major principle of Islamic Law. Although the secular educated classes in Egypt tend to avoid this practice, they are a minority. The public argument continues in a...

National pesticide reduction targets have largely been based on a percentage reduction in either the number of sprays applied or tonnage of pesticide used or both. These approaches imply a uniformity in pesticide use among the farmers comprising the industry. Data from a three-season integrated pest and disease management study in New South Wales, Australia, showed over 200% variation in the number of both fungicide and insecticide sprays applied by different apple growers in the same season. The total amount of pesticide applied (in kilograms per hectare) also varied between farmers by around 200%. Regression analysis showed no correlation between the number of fungicide sprays applied and the percentage of fruit infected with apple scab or between the number of insecticide sprays and the amount of insect damage recorded. Observations were made in ten orchards where pest and disease levels were monitored and advice given, and in a further ten orchards where no advice was provided. Decisions on fungicide use were left to the farmers in both groups, but advised growers were requested to use reduced rates of protectant fungicides. Pest control recommendations were based on thresholds. Except in the first season, when advised growers used more fungicide treatments, there was no difference in mean pesticide use by the two groups. Anecdotal information suggests that variation in acceptance of risk accounts for a large proportion of the differences in pesticide use in different orchards. The consequences of these findings in establishing pesticide reduction strategies are discussed.

Complexity is often stated as a mark of wine quality but there are no quantitative data supporting this assumption. The effect of partial alcohol reduction on the perceived complexity, temporality of sensations and liking of a Syrah wine was investigated.An Australian Syrah wine was partially dealcoholized using the reverse osmosis technique to obtain five wines with different alcohol content (13.5–8%). 71 French wine consumers evaluated their liking for these wines as well as the perceived intensity of overall complexity and eight items reported to be linked to perceived complexity in wine (familiarity, persistence, etc.) using continuous scales, anchored with pictures (Medel, Viala, Meillon, Urbano, & Schlich, 2009). In addition, eight trained panelists described temporality of sensations in the same wines with the Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) method. The overall complexity scale was well understood by consumers with a significant discrimination of wines according to their alcohol content. Wines with higher alcohol content were perceived as more complex, persistent, strong and with many aromas. They were associated to more complex temporal sensory profiles, with many sensations that blend in-mouth along time.

Page 1. 175 Coastal Management, 28:175–185, 2000 Copyright ã 2000 Taylor & Francis 0892-0753/00 $12.00 + .00 The Cost of Nutrient Reduction: A Case Study of Chesapeake Bay ARTHUR J. BUTT Chesapeake Scientific Investigations Foundation, Inc. ...

El objetivo de este estudio se centra en conocer el punto de vista y comportamiento de los maestros y maestras de educación infantil y primaria en situaciones de acoso escolar. Un total de 220 docentes han participado en el estudio (182 mujeres y 38 hombres; edad media = 42.24 años), respondiendo a un cuestionario en línea sobre algunos aspectos relacionados con el acoso escolar. Los resultados muestran que solo un 24.1 % se consideran preparados para afrontar situaciones de acoso o ciberacoso. Además, un 45.2 % afirma haber observado situaciones de acoso o ciberacoso en las aulas donde ha realizado docencia. En estos casos, las acciones que más frecuentemente llevan a cabo implican hablar con el agresor y la víctima, los compañeros de clase, el equipo directivo y las familias del agresor y de la víctima. Los comportamientos menos frecuentes implican castigar al agresor y hablar con los profesionales del centro, como por ejemplo, el psicólogo. Finalmente, los maestros y maestras con...