Experiment study on RC frame retrofitted by the external structure

A new retrofitting method is proposed herein for reinforced concrete （RC） structures through attachment of an external structure. The external structure consists of a fiber concrete encased steel frame, connection slab and transverse beams. The external structure is connected to the existing structure through a connection slab and transverse beams. Pseudo- static experiments were carried out on one unretrofitted specimen and three retrofitted frame specimens. The characteristics, including failure mode, crack pattern, hysteresis loops behavior, relationship of strain and displacement of the concrete slab, are demonstrated. The results show that the load carrying capacity is obviously increased, and the extension length of the slab and the number of columns within the external frame are important influence factors on the working performance of the existing structure. In addition, the displacement difference between the existing structure and the outer structure was caused mainly by three factors： shear deformation of the slab, extraction of transverse beams, and drift of the conjunction part between the slab and the existing frame. Furthermore, the total deformation determined by the first two factors accounted for approximately 80% of the damage, therefore these factors should be carefully considered in engineering practice to enhance the effects of this new retrofitting method.

Radiotherapy for Carcinoma of the Esophagus: Progress of Treatment and Research in China

Carcinoma of the esophagus is a common malignancy in China. Radiotherapy is one of the most important modalities of treatment. This article provides a review of the natural history of this disease, the results of radiotherapy for esophageal cancer and the recent advances in radiation techniques in China. Significant progress has been made in this area of research and treatment. Combined treatment modalities and new therapies are being evaluated and may be expected to contribute to improved patient outcomes and better palliation of symptoms in the future.

Outsourcing Service Departments

In a manufacturing company, certain departments can be characterized as production departments and others as service departments. This paper expands and simplifies the results by the author and his co-author （Lowenthal ＆ Malek, 2005; 2013）, by explaining in a simple way how to obtain the fair-price per unit to pay to external suppliers that replace service departments. The paper also proves that replacing several service departments at once produces exactly the same fair-price per unit if they were replaced sequentially.

Enhanced External Counterpulsation Treatment Inhibitting Advanced Atherosclerotic Plaque Progression by Augmenting the Plaque Wall Stress： An in vivo FSI Study Based on Animal Experiment

Enhance extemal counterpulsation （ECP） procedure has exhbited itself to be an effective therapy for the m anagem entof ischem ic card iovascu lar diseases, However, considering that EECP significantly increases the acute diastolic pressure, whether it will intervene in the chronic progression of advanced plaque causing great concern in clilical applkation, but yet rein ains elusive presently. In the current paper, a flu id-structure interface （FSI） num erical model of artery with p iaque corn ponent w as developed based on in vivo hem odynam ic m easurem entperfotm ed h a porcine model, to caku late the m echanical stresses of the plaque before and during EECP, and h lum to assess the potential effects of long-term EECP treatm ent on plaque progression. The resu Its show that E E C P augm ented the wall shear stress （WSS） and plaque w all stress （PWS） over the card lac cycles, aswell as the spacial oscillatory of W SS （WSSG ）. Durhg EECP treatm ent, the PW S level respectively raised 6.82% and 6.07% in two simulation cases. The currentpilot study suggests that E E C P treatm entre ay p lay a positive effect on inh biting the conthued plaque progression by hcreashg the PW S level over the card iac cycles. Meanwhile, the plaque morphology should be taken into consideration while m aking patient- specific plan for Ion g- term E E C P treatment in clinic.

Wittgenstein’s Peculiar Use of“Internal Relation”in Aspect-Seeing

“Internal relation”is a significant term in both Wittgenstein’s early and later philosophy.The term is used in relation to many problems,including our topic here,“aspect-seeing.”Some scholars have attempted to present a persuasive interpretation of this terminology;however,Wittgenstein’s remarks on“aspect-seeing”somehow thwart their approaches.The obstacle lies in the relata involved:Which terms are connected by an internal relation in the perception of an aspect?In this paper,I review the existing interpretations and present two proposals,one of which is conservative and the other slightly more radical.I argue that Wittgenstein makes divergent use of the distinction between“intemal/extemal relations,”and that this may reveal the potential ambiguities of the words“internal”and“relation”