In this work we report the role of thickness on electrochromic behavior of nickel oxide (NiO) films deposited by e-beam evaporation at room temperature on ITO-coated glass. The structure and morphology of films with thicknesses between 100 and 500 nm were analyzed and then correlated with electrochemical response and transmittance modulation when immersed in 0.5 M LiClO4–PC electrolyte. The NiO exhibits an anodic coloration, reaching for the thickest film a transmittance modulation of 66% between colored and bleached state, at 630 nm, with a color efficiency of 55 cm2 C−1. Very fast switch between states was obtained, where coloration and bleaching times are 3.6 s cm−2 and 1.4 s cm−2, respectively.

In 1994 fib Commission 6: Prefabrication edited a successful Planning and Design Handbook that ran to approximately 45,000 copies and was published in Spanish and German.Nearly 20 years later Bulletin 74 brings that first publication up to date. It offers a synthesis of the latest structural design knowledge about precast building structures against the background of 21st century technological innovations in materials, production and construction. With it, we hope to help architects and engineers achieve a full understanding of precast concrete building structures, the possibilities they offer and their specific design philosophy. It was principally written for non-seismic structures.

The handbook contains eleven chapters, each dealing with a specific aspect of precast building structures.
The first chapter of the handbook highlights best practice opportunities that will enable architects, design engineers and contractors to work together towards finding efficient solutions, which is something unique to precast concrete buildings.
The second chapter offers basic design recommendations that take into account the possibilities, restrictions and advantages of precast concrete, along with its detailing, manufacture, transport, erection and serviceability stages.
Chapter three describes the precast solutions for the most common types of buildings such as offices, sports stadiums, residential buildings, hotels, industrial warehouses and car parks. Different application possibilities are explored to teach us which types of precast units are commonly used in all those situations.
Chapter four covers the basic design principles and systems related to stability. Precast concrete structures should be designed according to a specific stability concept, unlike cast in-situ structures.
Chapter five discusses structural connections.
Chapters six to nine address the four most commonly used systems or subsystems of precast concrete in buildings, namely, portal and skeletal structures, wall-frame structures, floor and roof structures and architectural concrete facades.
In chapter ten the design and detailing of a number of specific construction details in precast elements are discussed, for example, supports, corbels, openings and cutouts in the units, special features related to the detailing of the reinforcement, and so forth.
Chapter eleven gives guidelines for the fire design of precast concrete structures. The handbook concludes with a list of references to good literature on precast concrete construction.

The skull-bone quadrate in nonavian theropods is very diverse morphologically alongside the disparity of the group as a whole. However this disparity has been underestimated for taxonomic purposes. In order to evaluate the phylogenetic potential and investigate the evolutionary transformations of the quadrate, we conducted a Catalano-Goloboff phylogenetic morphometric analysis as well as a cladistic analysis using 98 discrete quadrate related characters. The cladistic analysis provides a fully resolved tree mirroring to some degree the classification of nonavian theropods. The quadrate morphology by its own provides a wealth of data with strong phylogenetic signal and allows inference of major trends in the evolution of this bone. Important synapomorphies include: for Abelisauroidea, a lateral ramus extending to the ectocondyle; for Tetanurae, the absence of the lateral process; for Spinosauridae, a medial curvature of the ventral part of the pterygoid ramus occurring just above the mandibular articulation; for Avetheropoda, an anterior margin of the pterygoid flange formed by a roughly parabolic margin; and for Tyrannosauroidea, a semi-oval pterygoid flange shape in medial view. The Catalano-Goloboff phylogenetic morphometric analysis reveals two main morphotypes of the mandibular articulation of the quadrate linked to function. The first morphotype, characterized by an anteroposteriorly broad mandibular articulation with two ovoid/subcircular condyles roughly subequal in size, is found in Ceratosauria, Tyrannosauroidea and Oviraptorosauria. This morphotype allows a very weak displacement of the mandible laterally. The second morphotype is characterized by an elongate and anteroposteriorly narrow mandibular articulation and a long and parabolic/sigmoid ectocondyle. Present in Megalosauroidea, Carcharodontosauridae and Dromaeosauridae, this morphotype permits the lower jaw rami to be displaced laterally when the mouth opened.

Sustainable supply chain design is nowadays an important topic where not only economic and environmental aspects should be accounted for, but also social aspects are to be considered. A mathematical programming model was developed and a case-study was performed considering two different social indicators: one that prefers facility location in regions of lower GDP and the other in regions of higher unemployment rate. Results show that the outcome depends on the indicator used. However, for the case presented, minimum cost solution also corresponds to a good social solution regarding GDP, which could translate into economic incentives for the company.

The use of Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP) has recently become widespread in the construction industry. However, some drawbacks related to premature debonding of the FRP composites from the bonded substrates have been identified. One of the solutions proposed is the implementation of mechanical anchorage systems. Although some design guidelines have been developed, the actual knowledge continues to be rather limited. Thus, designers and researchers have not yet achieved any consensus on the efficiency of any particular anchor device in delaying or preventing the premature debonding failure mode that can occur in Externally Bonded Reinforcement (EBR) systems. This paper studies the debonding phenomenon of FRP anchoring systems with a linear variable width, with a numerical analysis based on the Distinct Element Method (DEM). Combined systems with constant and variable width are also discussed. The FRP-to-parent material interfaces are modelled with a rigid-linear softening bond–slip law. The numerical results showed that it is possible to attain the FRP rupture force with a variable width solution. This solution is particularly attractive when the bonded length is shorter than the effective bonded length because the strength of the interface can be highly incremented.

The amniote eggshell functions as a respiratory structure adapted for the optimal transmission of respiratory gasses to and from the embryo according to its physiological requirements. Therefore amniotes with higher oxygen requirements, such as those that sustain higher metabolic rates, can be expected to have eggshells that can maintain a greater gas flux to and from the egg. Studies of extant amniotes have found that eggshells of reduced porosity impose a limit on the metabolic rate of the offspring. Here we show a highly significant relationship between metabolic rates and eggshell porosity in extant amniotes that predicts highly endothermic metabolic rates in dinosaurs. This study finds the eggshell porosity of extant endotherms to be significantly higher than that of extant ectotherms. Eggshell porosity values of dinosaurs are found to be significantly higherthan that of extant ectotherms, but not extant endotherms. Dinosaur eggshells are commonly preserved in the fossil record, and porosity may be readily identified and measured. This provides a simple tool to identify metabolic rates in extinct egg-laying tetrapods whose eggs possessed a mineralized shell

A single, geographically and temporally restricted horizon at Bentiaba, Angola (14.3° S), preserves a concentration of skeletons and isolated elements representing sharks, rays, bony fish, at least three species of turtles, two species of plesiosaurs, at least five species of mosasaurs, and rare volant and terrestrial forms. The concentration, referred to as the Bench 19 Fauna, formed on a narrow continental shelf at paleolatitude 24°S as predicted by paleomagnetic data and confirmed by plate motion models. The shelf evolved as a transform passive margin along faults associated with the opening of the South Atlantic. Latitude 24°S falls today along the coast of northern Namibia, an area of intense upwelling and hyperarid coastal desert. The Namibe Basin in southern Angola is separated from the Walvis Basin of Namibia by the Walvis Ridge, and the continental shelf in northern Namibia is eight times the width of that at Bentiaba. However, the sediment entombing the fossils at Bentiaba is an immature feldspathic sand, shown by detrital zircon ages to be derived from nearby exposed granitic shield rocks, suggesting similar climatic and drainage conditions between the two regions. Temporal control of the Bentiaba section is provided by magnetostratigraphy and stable carbon isotope chemostratigraphy anchored by an Ar40/Ar39radiometric date on basalt. The age of Bench 19 is constrained to chron C32n.1n and thus falls between 71.4 and 71.64 Ma. Massive bedding without hummocky cross-bedding or other sedimentary structures indicates deposition in shallow water below wave base. δ18O analysis of bivalve shells indicates a water temperature of 18° C immediately below Bench 19. Nearest neighbor distance peaks at 5 m (n=19