Human spaceflight in the UK: the cost of non-participation

Human space exploration is not considered a strategic priority in the United Kingdom at present. However the UK would benefit from participating in human spaceflight, for both scientific and social reasons. From the point of view of medical science there are many parallels between the physiology of spaceflight and terrestrial disease processes, and studies of the response of astronauts to long-duration spaceflight can therefore help in the development of therapeutic strategies on Earth. On the social side, human spaceflight is an attractive vehicle for stimulating the interest of young people in science and engineering, something that must be of value for an aspiring ‘knowledge-based’ economy.     

The trouble with nature: Ambivalence in the lives of urban Australian environmentalists

The number and range of contests over the social production of nature is growing. Much environmentalist discourse, however, continues to appeal for unequivocal scientific support on clearly demarcated issues of pure, a-social nature. This paper explores the question of how participants in environmental movements view this demarcation in the context of their own lives. After introducing scholarly critique of dualistic ideas of nature and the ambivalence characteristic of environmentalist conceptions of nature, the paper draws upon a qualitative study with environmentalists in the Australian cities of Melbourne, Perth and Hobart. Inquiring into the interplay of discourse of nature and everyday worlds, interviews revealed a complex interdependence of dualistic and non-dualistic understandings of nature. This ecology of ideas was especially evident in spatial imaginaries of nature. Scientific terminology, social disaffection and pessimism were associated with abstract and mutually exclusive conceptions of society and nature. Reflections on personal experience, however, indicated more flexible and hopeful negotiations in everyday liminal spaces offering ‘the best of both worlds’. It is concluded that environmentalist resistance to dismantling of conceptual boundaries between society and nature may often stem not from failure to appreciate socionatural complexity, but from a strongly felt sense that the self can only truly be found in nature.     

Tantulocarida (Crustacea: Maxillopoda): A New Taxon from the Temporary Meiobenthos1

Abstract. Two new genera of Tantulocarida are described from the Ligurian deep sea (Western Mediterranean) off Corsica. Xenalytus scotophilia is referred to the Microdajidae and differs from Microdajus GREVE in thoracopodal segmentation as well as in the presence of coupling spines on thoracopod 6 and longitudinal lamellae on the cephalic shield. Aphotocentor styx is placed in the Deoterthridae and holds an intermediate position between Deoterthron BRADFORD & HEWITT and Boreotantulus HI/YS & BOXSHALL. Some aspects of cephalon internal structure are described for the first time and give a possible explanation for the mechanism of stylet protrusion. The external structures of the oral disc are described using SEM. The discovery of well-developed muscles in the trunk and thoracopods is discussed in the light of the benthic phase the tantulus passes through. The boundary between the thorax and abdomen in the tantulus is reinterpreted, corroborating the 5–7-5 bodyplan of the hypothetical urmaxillopodan as found in the Upper Cambrian Skaracarida and possibly also Dala peilertae MOLLER. Some aspects related to dispersal, infection, and feeding are reinterpreted or approached from a different perspective. SEM of Microdajus langi GREVE gives evidence that the tantuli hatch via a conspicuous slit located at the posterior end of the female trunk sac. A worldwide key to the tantulocaridan families and genera is given, and distributional records are compiled. It is suggested that Tantulocarida might be common representatives of the temporary meiobenthos and that their present species number represents only the tip of the iceberg.     

Reliability-Based Optimal Design for Very Large Floating Structure

1 .ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＴｈｅａｐｐｒａｉｓａｌｏｆａｇｏｏｄｄｅｓｉｇｎｆｏｒａｖｅｒｙｌａｒｇｅｆｌｏａｔｉｎｇｓｔｒｕｃｔｕｒｅ(ＶＬＦＳ)ｔｈａｔｗｉｌｌｓｅｒｖｅｉｎａｓｐｅｃｉ ｆｉｅｄｏｃｅａｎａｒｅａｒｅｑｕｉｒｅｓｔｈａｔｔｈｅｓｔｒｕｃｔｕｒａｌｓｙｓｔｅｍｂｅｅｃｏｎｏｍｉｃａｌｌｙｄｅｓｉｇｎｅｄ ,ｔｈｅｒｅｑｕｉｒｅｍｅｎｔｓｆｏｒｉｔｓｆｕｎｃｔｉｏｎｂｅｓａｔｉｓｆｉｅｄａｎｄｔｈｅｓｔｒｕｃｔｕｒｅｋｅｅｐｓｓｔａｂｌｅｉｎｉｔｓｗｈｏｌｅｓｅｒｖｉｃｅｐｅｒｉｏ…     

Full-range nonlinear analysis of fatigue behaviors of reinforced concrete structures by finite element method

Ｆｕｌｌ－ｒａｎｇｅｎｏｎｌｉｎｅａｒａｎａｌｙｓｉｓｏｆｆａｔｉｇｕｅｂｅｈａｖｉｏｒｓｏｆｒｅｉｎｆｏｒｃｅｄｃｏｎｃｒｅｔｅｓｔｒｕｃｔｕｒｅｓｂｙｆｉｎｉｔｅｅｌｅｍｅｎｔｍｅｔｈｏｄ￥ＳｏｎｇＹｕｐｕ；ＺｈａｏＳｈｕｎｂｏ；ＷａｎｇＲｕｉｍ...     

Fuzzy Fatigue Reliability Analysis of Offshore Platforms in Ice-Infested Waters

1 .IntroductionTheBohaiGulfisinfestedbyiceinthewholewinter,andoffshorestructuresthereexperiencenotonlywind ,waves ,currentsandearthquake ,butalsoiceloadswhicharecomplicatedbecauseofthedynamicinteractionbetweenicesheetsandstructures.Duanetal.( 2 0 0 0 )hadacomprehensivere viewofthelatestadvancesonice inducedvibration ,fatigueandfractureofoffshorestructures ,payingmuchattentiontothedifferencesinicebreakingmodeanddynamicsofstructuresindifferentice in festedwaters .Theypresentedcriticallythelates…     

Fatigue Behavior of Plain Concrete Under Biaxial Compression: Experiments and Theoretical Model

The effects of different lateral confinement stress on the fatigue behavior of and cumulative damage to plain concrete are investigated experimentally. Eighty 100 mm x 100 mm x 100 mm specimens of ordinary strength concrete are tested under constant- or variable-amplitude fatigue loading and lateral confinement pressure in two orthogonal directions. A fatigue equation is developed by modifying the classical Aas-Jakobsen S-N equation for taking into account the effect of the confined stress on fatigue strength of plain concrete. The results of variable-amplitude fatigue tests indicate that the linear damage theory proposed by Palmgren and Miner is unreasonable in the biaxial stress state. A nonlinear cumulative damage model that could model the effects of the magnitude and sequence of variable-amplitude fatigue loading and lateral confinement pressure is proposed on the basis of the evolution laws of the residual strains in the longitudinal direction during fatigue tests. The residual fatigue life predic     

Ice-Induced Fatigue Analysis by Spectral Approach for Offshore Jacket Platforms with Ice-Breaking Cones

The spectral methods and ice-induced fatigue analysis are discussed based on Miner's linear cumulative fatigue hypothesis and S-N curve data.According to the long-term data of full-scale tests on the platforms in the Bohai Sea,the ice force spectrum of conical structures and the fatigue environmental model are established.Moreover,the finite element model of JZ20-2MSW platform,an example of ice-induced fatigue analysis,is built with ANSYS software.The mode analysis and dynamic analysis in frequency domain under all kinds of ice fatigue work conditions are carried on,and the fatigue life of the structure is estimated in detail.The methods in this paper can be helpful in ice-induced fatigue analysis of ice-resistant platforms.     

日照近海金乌贼生物学的初步研究

为给金乌贼渔业的可持续发展提供依据,通过形态学观察及生物学测定,初步研究了山东日照岚山头近海金乌贼Sepia esculentaHoyle,1885的外部形态特征和生物学特性(胴长与体重组成、生长参数相关关系等),并结合相关资料,对其生活史进行了讨论。研究结果表明:金乌贼胴长(ML)与体重(TW)之间的关系为:TW幼体=6.0×10-4ML2.762 6,TW♀=6.0×10-4ML2.767 1,TW♂=12.0×10-4ML2.585 6;金乌贼为异速生长型,其生长迅速、个体生长差异较大;5~6月为金乌贼繁殖季节,成体交配产卵后死亡,属1年生头足类。     

随机载荷下的疲劳损伤计算公式

本文推导了随机载荷下的疲劳损伤计算公式。数值计算结果表明：Ｐ．Ｈ．Ｗｉｒｓｃｈｉｎｇ给出的公式在宽带情况下与实际情况不符；Ｇ．Ｃｈａｕｄｈｕｒｙ给出的公式在窄带情况下与实际不符；本文绘出的公式不仅适合于窄带，也适合于具有各种不同带宽的宽带随机载荷。