I will start this treatise with a history of two major themes in data integration. In my opinion, the topic began with the major retailers in the 1990s consolidating their sales data into a data warehouse. To do this they needed to extract data from in-store sales systems, transform it into a predefined common representation (think of this as a global schema), and then load it into a data wareh...

In order to automate the scooping task, it is desirable that the resistive force acting on the bucket be obtained before the scooping is performed. The objective of this study is to derive theoretically the resistive forces acting on the bucket during scooping of piled rock fragments. First, the changes in the shape of the rock pile due to the penetration of it by the bucket are modeled. Based ...

Comparative study of microfossils from two kinds of sediments: chert intercalations (studied in thin section) and phosphorite/phosphatic carbonate (in thin section and maceration), from the upper Neoproterozoic Doushantuo phospho− rites in the Weng’an area, Guizhou Province, South China, shows that the phosphatized Megasphaera ornata and the chert−preserved Tianzhushania tuberifera should be re...

A split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) system with a special shape striker has been suggested as the test method by the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) to determine the dynamic characteristics of rock materials. In order to further verify this testing technique and microscopically reveal the dynamic responses of specimens in SHPB tests, a numerical SHPB test system was establishe...

BACKGROUND The Rho proteins and Rho-kinase (ROCK) enzymes are responsible for signal transduction, and cause cell permeability, contractility, differentiation, migration, proliferation or apoptosis depending on cell types. All of these functions are vital for cancer initiation and progression. In this study, the preventive and protective effects of a selective ROCK inhibitor Y-27632 against Ehr...

Novel laboratory equipment has been modified to allow both torsional and flexural oscillation measurements at sub-microstrain amplitudes, thereby providing seismic-frequency constraints on both the shear and compressional wave properties of cylindrical rock specimens within the linear regime. The new flexural mode capability has been tested on experimental assemblies containing fused silica con...

Introduction: Quartz is one of the most common minerals in rocks on Earth and on other non-icy planetary bodies. Apart from the generation of microstructural features such as planar fractures and planar deformation features, which are associated with the high pressure and loading rates associated with shock loading [1,2], not much is known on the fracture behavior of this material during large ...

The mechanical behavior of multicracks under compression has become a very important project in the field of fracture mechanics and rock mechanics. In this paper, experimental and numerical studies on the fracture property of three collinear cracks under compression were implemented. The specimens were a square concrete plate, and the cracks were made by a very thin film. The tests were conduct...

PURPOSE Rho-associated coiled-coil-containing protein kinase (ROCK) is a downstream target of Rho GTPase signaling and regulates the assembly of stress fibers. Previous reports indicate that Rho/ROCK signaling is involved in the regulation of several cellular processes, some of which may be cell-type specific and are probably critical to corneal stromal cell activation. The present study identi...