Wooden Panel Deterioration by Tropical Marine Wood Borers

Wood destruction in test panels ofShorea leprosulawas related to the percentage of fouling, types of wood borers and the number of wood borers. The natural durability ofShorea leprosulapanels was estimated to be 4–5 months in Malaysian marine waters. A higher fouling cover resulted in lower rates of wooden panel deterioration. Larger numbers of wood borers brought about greater panel deterioration. Primary wood destruction was caused by bivalve wood borers, mainlyMartesia striata, Lyrodus pedicellatus, Bankia campanellata, Teredo furciferaandTeredo bartschi. Martesia striatawas the important wood destroying agent in the intertidal zone and, together with the shipworms, was also responsible for panel destruction in the subtidal zone.     

Comparison of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon distributions and sedimentary organic matter characteristics in contaminated, coastal sediments from Pensacola Bay, Florida

In this study, we examined the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in a contaminated coastal area and the characteristics of the natural organic matter in tandem. We present a detailed study of PAH concentration, distribution, and organic matter characteristics of three core samples from Pensacola Bay, Florida. Solid-state 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), pyrolysis gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) thermochemolysis GC-MS were applied to obtain structural details about the sedimentary organic matter. Elemental compositions (carbon and nitrogen) and estimates of black carbon contents are also reported. These coastal sediments were found to contain more PAHs in the upper 15 cm layers than in the bottom 15-25 cm samples. The samples that contained the most PAHs also contained the least amount of aromatic carbon and contained a significant amount of paraffinic carbon. Lignin-derived pyrolysis and TMAH thermochemolysis products were abundant and generally higher in all of the samples in comparison to those reported for modern coastal sediments, indicating a large flux of terrestrial carbon. The black carbon contents were found to range from 4.3% to 6.8%, which are significantly lower than other reports of black carbon in sediments, which represent as much as 65% of the total organic carbon content. The low black carbon content suggests that this type of refractory carbon may not be as responsible for regulating PAH distribution as indicated by other researchers.     

Break out resistance of inclined anchors in sand

Inclined anchors are widely used in a variety of civil engineering problems to resist oblique loads, most relevant being in transmission towers and in rocks and dams for structural strengthening. In the present study, the breakout resistance of the inclined anchors in sand has been worked out using limit equilibrium approach. The breakout resistance has been calculated for different soil friction angles with varying relative depth ratio and anchor inclination. The break out factor increases continuously with the inclination of the anchor. A comparison of predicted values of break out resistance of anchors by the proposed analysis with the experimental values as reported by the other researchers showed reasonably good agreement.     

Water use, growth and yield of green gram under rainfed upland crop sequences in Gangetic Plains of Indian sub-tropics

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different crop sequences on water use, growth and yield of green gram (Vigna radiata (L) Wilezek) during 1992-93 and 1993-94 under rainfed upland condition in Indo-Gangetic plains of West Bengal. Green gram sown in the month of March as pre-rainy (summer) season crop, as and when the winter crops vacated the land, produced highest dry matter of 372 gm-2 which was significantly highest in black gram-yellow sarson sequence.The results of the field experimentation revealed that green gram gave highest grain yield to the extent of 10.80 q/ha when sown after black gram (rainy season) followed by yellow sarson (winter season) while the crop produced 10.63 q/ha under sesame-yellow sarson sequence. Highest water use of 267mm was achieved in green gram under black gram-yellow sarson sequence and the crop gave water use efficiency of 4.07 kg ha-1mm-1 under black gram-yellow sarson sequences.     

Water use, growth and yield of green gram under rainfed upland crop sequences in Gangetic Plains of Indian sub-tropics

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of different crop sequences on water use, growth and yield of green gram (Vigna radiata (L) Wilezek) during 1992-93 and 1993-94 under rainfed upland condition in Indo-Gangetic plains of West Bengal. Green gram sown in the month of March as pre-rainy (summer) season crop, as and when the winter crops vacated the land, produced highest dry matter of 372 gm-2 which was significantly highest in black gram-yellow sarson sequence. The results of the field experimentation revealed that green gram gave highest grain yield to the extent of 10.80 q/ha when sown after black gram (rainy season) followed by yellow sarson (winter season) while the crop produced 10.63 q/ha under sesame-yellow sarson sequence. Highest water use of 267 mm was achieved in green gram under black gram-yellow sarson sequence and the crop gave water use efficiency of 4.07 kg ha-1mm-1 under black gram-yellow sarson sequences.     

A modal pushover analysis procedure to estimate seismic demands for unsymmetric‐plan buildings

An Erratum has been published for this article in Earthquake Engng. Struct. Dyn. 2004; 33:1429. Based on structural dynamics theory, the modal pushover analysis (MPA) procedure retains the conceptual simplicity of current procedures with invariant force distribution, now common in structural engineering practice. The MPA procedure for estimating seismic demands is extended to unsymmetric‐plan buildings. In the MPA procedure, the seismic demand due to individual terms in the modal expansion of the effective earthquake forces is determined by non‐linear static analysis using the inertia force distribution for each mode, which for unsymmetric buildings includes two lateral forces and torque at each floor level. These ‘modal’ demands due to the first few terms of the modal expansion are then combined by the CQC rule to obtain an estimate of the total seismic demand for inelastic systems. When applied to elastic systems, the MPA procedure is equivalent to standard response spectrum analysis (RSA). The MPA estimates of seismic demand for torsionally‐stiff and torsionally‐flexible unsymmetric systems are shown to be similarly accurate as they are for the symmetric building; however, the results deteriorate for a torsionally‐similarly‐stiff unsymmetric‐plan system and the ground motion considered because (a) elastic modes are strongly coupled, and (b) roof displacement is underestimated by the CQC modal combination rule (which would also limit accuracy of RSA for linearly elastic systems). Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural controls on gold mineralisation and the nature of related fluids of the Paiol gold deposit, Almas Greenstone Belt, Brazil

Chemical analyses suggest that the metavolcanic rocks of the Almas Greenstone Belt (AGB), Tocantins State, Brazil have a continental affinity, possibly related to a continental rift environment. They were metamorphosed to amphibolite facies during a regional tectono-metamorphic event (D_n), retrogressed to greenschist facies assemblages and then hydrothermally altered within dextral strike–slip shear zones (D_n+1). Fracture sets related to D_n+2 intersect S_n+1.The Paiol Gold Mine is one of several mineralised zones within metabasic and meta-intermediate rocks of the AGB. It exploits shoots of sulphide–Au–quartz mineralisation that occupy dilational zones approximately perpendicular to an elongation lineation (L_n+1) within mylonitic foliation S_n+1 (S_n+1=S within the S–C fabric). The dilational zones probably formed due to dextral displacement on sinistrally en echelon C surfaces. Minor amounts of gold may have been introduced or remobilised during D_n+2.Coexisting primary and pseudosecondary fluid inclusions in mineralised quartz veins from ore shoots comprise a high-salinity three-phase type (Type II) and a lower salinity two-phase type (Type I). Homogenisation temperatures for Type II inclusions range from 200 to 410 °C and Type I from 90 to 320 °C. The inclusions and their temperature ranges are believed to reflect heat exchange and some mixing between the two fluid types under relatively constant ambient temperatures, but variable (though broadly declining) fluid temperatures. This took place late in D_n+1 in conjunction with greenschist facies retrogression and localised hydrothermally induced metasomatism.