Comparative Study on Seismic Analysis of Multi Storied RC Framed Structure with and without Diaphragm Discontinuity

Any Structure that is designed in today’s world has to be designed not only for aesthetics but also for stability. These days high rise multi storied structures are quiet prominent. These types of structures, should not only be designed for aesthetic point of view but also must be designed to resist earthquake forces which are subjected on these structures. These earthquake forces acting on the structures are also known as seismic forces. Due to architectural purposes, some buildings, have openings, provided in them, this creates structural discontinuities in the building. These openings or discontinuities can change the load transfer path of the structures which may cause significant change in the building behavior, under the application of the seismic forces. In this paper pushover analysis is carried out to study the behavior of the building in case of architectural opening for staircase or cut outs etc which results in discontinuity in the structure. Keywords: Diaphragm, Discontinuity, ETABS, Pushover Analysis, Seismic

Bidirectional Behavioral Selection in Mice: A Novel Pre-clinical Approach to Examining Compulsivity

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and related disorders (OCRD) is one of the most prevalent neuropsychiatric disorders with no definitive etiology. The pathophysiological attributes of OCD are driven by a multitude of factors that involve polygenic mechanisms, gender, neurochemistry, physiological status, environmental exposures and complex interactions among these factors. Such complex intertwining of contributing factors imparts clinical heterogeneity to the disorder making it challenging for therapeutic intervention. Mouse strains selected for excessive levels of nest- building behavior exhibit a spontaneous, stable and predictable compulsive-like behavioral phenotype. These compulsive-like mice exhibit heterogeneity in expression of compulsive-like and other adjunct behaviors that might serve as a valuable animal equivalent for examining the interactions of genetics, sex and environmental factors in influencing the pathophysiology of OCD. The current review summarizes the existing findings on the compulsive-like mice that bolster their face, construct and predictive validity for studying various dimensions of compulsive and associated behaviors often reported in clinical OCD and OCRD.

Building behavior does not drive rates of phenotypic evolution in spiders

Do animals set the course for the evolution of their lineage when manipulating their environment? This heavily disputed question is empirically unexplored but critical to interpret phenotypic diversity. Here, we tested whether the macroevolutionary rates of body morphology correlate with the use of built artifacts in a megadiverse clade comprising builders and nonbuilders—spiders. By separating the inferred building-dependent rates from background effects, we found that variation in the evolution of morphology is poorly explained by artifact use. Thus natural selection acting directly on body morphology rather than indirectly via construction behavior is the dominant driver of phenotypic diversity.

Everyday prevalence of foreigner-directed speech

L1 speakers often accommodate L2 speakers in a phenomenon known as “foreigner-directed speech” (FDS; Hatch, 1978). FDS is frequently employed as a strategy by L1 speakers to adapt their speech when talking to learners of a specific language; it is generally described as a rapport-building behavior that helps L2 speakers understand the conversation better. In a recent questionnaire study, 85% of L1 speakers reported adjusting their English when speaking to L2 speakers (Margić, 2017). Critically, L2 speakers’ reports on its consequences or effectiveness were not included. Through Qualtrics Panels, we surveyed 192 L1 speakers of English (Mage= 53 years old; 97 female/94 male/1 no response) and 201 L2 speakers of English (Mage= 37 years old; 100 female/98 male/3 non-binary) using a newly developed questionnaire to determine how speech accommodation is perceived. Contrary to previous findings, over half of our L1 participants reported that they do not change their speech when talking to L2 speakers (61%). Half reported they do not like doing it (52%), and 30% are frustrated when it is expected of them. Consistent with our L1 findings, only a third of L2 participants reported L1 speakers change their speech when talking to them (36%), 47% do not like it, and 64% are frustrated when L1 speakers do not accommodate them. Additionally, 57% report they avoid talking to L1 speakers out of fear of being judged, and 40% say that they have been talked down to by L1 speakers. Individual differences appear to modulate how L1 and L2 speakers use FDS and perceive it: For both groups, we found a relationship between the FDS questionnaire and measures of anxiety, personality, L2 proficiency, as well as the frequency of interactions between L1 and L2 speakers. Results are interpreted in light of Communication Accommodation Theory (Giles & Ogay, 2007).

Influences of local materials on the building behavior and evaluation of the cooling loads

The energy demand in buildings sector is always increasing due to the climate, the economic growth, and also the need for thermal comfort. The aim of this paper is to find a way that can significantly reduce the energy demand for a building through an improvement of the design of its thermal envelope. Within this work, we utilized the thermophysical properties of four building materials: three local materials (compressed earth block (BTC), lateritic block (BLT), and raw earth), and one modern (Hollow cement). The numerical optimization of the building design has been performed dynamically by Comsol 5.3a software: the case study is Ouagadougou and the surface is 100m2. Also, the temporal variations in the inside of the room, as well as the internal and external temperatures of the walls and the ceiling with four different materials, have been determined. The result of the simulation shows that, for BLT, the maximum of ambiante temperature is obtained 308K around 22h, for Adobe it is 308.8K around 21h, for BTC it was 309.2K at 19h30, and finally for cement block it is 310K around 17. We can safely say that BLT is the material leading to the lowest average daily indoor temperature variation, thus leading to the reduction of air conditioning load and the need for thermal comfort and around the order of 4KW of energy saving can be obtained.

Self-organized biotectonics of termite nests

The termite nest is one of the architectural wonders of the living world, built by the collective action of workers in a colony. Each nest has several characteristic structural motifs that allow for efficient ventilation, cooling, and traversal. We use tomography to quantify the nest architecture of the African termite Apicotermes lamani, consisting of regularly spaced floors connected by scattered linear and helicoidal ramps. To understand how these elaborate structures are built and arranged, we formulate a minimal model for the spatiotemporal evolution of three hydrodynamic fields—mud, termites, and pheromones—linking environmental physics to collective building behavior using simple local rules based on experimental observations. We find that floors and ramps emerge as solutions of the governing equations, with statistics consistent with observations of A. lamani nests. Our study demonstrates how a local self-reinforcing biotectonic scheme is capable of generating an architecture that is simultaneously adaptable and functional, and likely to be relevant for a range of other animal-built structures.

On the role of the anthropocentric factor in the realization of the derivational potential of names of ungulates as motivating lexical units

The paper is dedicated to describing the word-building system of the Russian language in terms of its vocabulary. Lexical factors are discussed influencing the formation of lexical units’ potential as motivating units of word-building processes and relations and the realization of this potential in language activities. Of most interest for the authors are anthropocentric determinants, most of which are coordinating the lexical system and, through its mediation, the word-building system with the worldview of native speakers of the Russian language. The proposed model of derivational development of vocabulary provides such coordination through studying the deep-seated process of conceptualization of the words that are the potential motivators of neologisms. This study identifies the word frequency as an external manifestation of conceptualization. The frequency data were obtained from Google search system statistical data. Capturing not only usual but also occasional and potential words, this source is an effective tool for studying word-building processes and their results. This study has unveiled the interrelation between the language worldview of native speakers of Russian and their “word-building behavior” in language activities. The worldview has been found, first of all, to be determined by the pragmatic factor, which primarily influences the usage of a word in the speech reflected by its frequency. The frequency ranks lexical units due to their derivational potential and thereby provides a researcher with a reliable instrument for its study.