Spectral analysis of the biharmonic operator subject to Neumann boundary conditions on dumbbell domains

We consider the biharmonic operator subject to homogeneous boundary conditions of Neumann type on a planar dumbbell domain which consists of two disjoint domains connected by a thin channel. We analyse the spectral behaviour of the operator, characterizing the limit of the eigenvalues and of the eigenprojections as the thickness of the channel goes to zero. In applications to linear elasticity, the fourth order operator under consideration is related to the deformation of a free elastic plate, a part of which shrinks to a segment. In contrast to what happens with the classical second order case, it turns out that the limiting equation is here distorted by a strange factor depending on a parameter which plays the role of the Poisson coefficient of the represented plate.Comment: To appear in "Integral Equations and Operator Theory

Polymorphism in TGFB1 is associated with worse non-relapse mortality and overall survival after stem cell transplantation with unrelated donors.

Transforming growth factor beta-1, encoded by the TGFB1 gene, is a cytokine that plays a central role in many physiological and pathogenic processes. We have sequenced TGFB1 regulatory region and assigned allelic genotypes in a large cohort of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients and donors. In this study, we analyzed 522 unrelated donor-patient pairs and examined the combined effect of all the common polymorphisms in this genomic region. In univariate analysis, we found that patients carrying a specific allele, 'p001', showed significantly reduced overall survival (5-year overall survival 30.7% for p001/ p001 patients vs. 41.6% others; P=0.032) and increased non-relapse mortality (1-year nonrelapse mortality: 39.0% vs. 25.4%; P=0.039) after transplantation. In multivariate analysis, the presence of a p001/ p001 genotype in patients was confirmed as an independent factor for reduced overall survival [hazard ratio=1.53 (1.04-2.24); P=0.031], and increased non-relapse mortality [hazard ratio=1.73 (1.06-2.83); P=0.030]. In functional experiments we found a trend towards a higher percentage of surface transforming growth factor beta-1-positive regulatory T cells after activation when the cells had a p001 allele (P=0.07). Higher or lower production of transforming growth factor beta-1 in the inflammatory context of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation may influence the development of complications in these patients. Findings indicate that TGFB1 genotype could potentially be of use as a prognostic factor in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation risk assessment algorithms

Spectrum-based feature localization: A case study using ArgoUML

Feature localization (FL) is a basic activity in re-engineering legacy systems into software product lines. In this work, we explore the use of the Spectrum-based localization technique for this task. This technique is traditionally used for fault localization but with practical applications in other tasks like the dynamic FL approach that we propose. The ArgoUML SPL benchmark is used as a case study and we compare it with a previous hybrid (static and dynamic) approach from which we reuse the manual and testing execution traces of the features. We conclude that it is feasible and sound to use the Spectrum-based approach providing promising results in the benchmark metrics

Study of Different Aging Conditions for Analysis of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of F357 Alloy Fabricated in LPBF Printer

Aluminum F357 is a widely used material for casting in aerospace and additive manufacturing industry. Heat treatments are commonly applied to some aluminum alloys to modify its properties. With a further study on the aging and performance of the F357 with 3D printing technology, several industries benefit of this, military, automotive and aerospace are some examples, because the numerous components casted in service. This work presents mechanical properties of F357 specimens fabricated with EOS technology and subjected to heat treatments. Heat treatments conditions were applied to tensile specimens and tested. Furthermore, the specimens were subjected to artificial thermal aging for 100 h and 1000 h at two different temperatures (285 ºF and 350 ºF), and their mechanical properties were also determined. Finally, remarks on the comparison between the heat treatments and the effect of thermal aging on the microstructures and mechanical properties of the specimens will be presented.Mechanical Engineerin

Linguistic evaluation of support verb constructions by OpenLogos and google translate

This paper presents a systematic human evaluation of translations of English support verb constructions produced by a rule-based machine translation (RBMT) system (OpenLogos) and a statistical machine translation (SMT) system (Google Translate) for five languages: French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. We classify support verb constructions by means of their syntactic structure and semantic behavior and present a qualitative analysis of their translation errors. The study aims to verify how machine translation (MT) systems translate fine-grained linguistic phenomena, and how well-equipped they are to produce high-quality translation. Another goal of the linguistically motivated quality analysis of SVC raw output is to reinforce the need for better system hybridization, which leverages the strengths of RBMT to the benefit of SMT, especially in improving the translation of multiword units. Taking multiword units into account, we propose an effective method to achieve MT hybridization based on the integration of semantico-syntactic knowledge into SMT.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Asociación entre el exceso de peso (sobrepeso y obesidad) y la utilización de edulcorantes no calóricos en la dieta diaria en un sector de la ciudad de Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) 2016

Estudios realizados en la ciudad de Cartagena de Indias hacia el 2014, evidenciaron una elevada prevalencia de sobrepeso y obesidad, en comparación con otras regiones de Colombia; al 62% de la población actual de Cartagena (un 41% de sobrepeso y un 21% de obesidad). Sin embargo, a pesar de esta “epidemia”, existen pocas investigaciones en la ciudad encaminadas al estudio de factores protectores frente a la enfermedad. Objetivo: Establecer la asociación entre el exceso de peso (IMC?25) versus la utilización de edulcorantes no calóricos en la dieta diaria de habitantes de un sector de la ciudad de Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. Metodología: Se realizó un estudio observacional-transversal, cuya muestra involucró a más de 88 viviendas (470 participantes) de la Unidad de Gobierno No.1 de la ciudad de Cartagena de Indias compuesta por barrios de los estratos 4 al 6 que, de acuerdo a los antecedentes del estudio, tienen mayor conocimiento y acceso a los edulcorantes. Para el diagnóstico de la enfermedad (sobrepeso y obesidad) personal entrenado y con instrumentos debidamente calibrados evaluó los parámetros antropométricos. Posteriormente, se aplicó una encuesta validada en estudios previos, en cuanto al uso de edulcorantes en la dieta diaria de los participantes. Los resultados se analizaron con el programa estadístico WinEpi utilizando como medida de asociación la “Razón de prevalencias” con un nivel de confianza del 95%. Resultados: De acuerdo a los resultados, la Unidad de Gobierno No.1 conformada por los barrios el Laguito, Castillo Grande, Bocagrande, El Centro, La matuna, Getsemaní, San Diego, El cabrero, Marbella, Crespo, Pie de la Popa y Manga presentaron una prevalencia de sobrepeso del 34%, una prevalencia de obesidad del 9% y una prevalencia del porcentaje de grasa corporal aumentado del 38% en el momento del estudio. El 27% de todos los participantes estuvieron expuestos al consumo diario de edulcorantes. Conclusiones: De acuerdo con el estudio, los individuos expuestos al uso diario de edulcorante no calórico (130) mostraron entre 3,98 y 13,28 menos probabilidades de presentar sobrepeso u obesidad (IMC?25) que los no expuestos (340). Por lo tanto, se considera que el uso diario de edulcorantes no calóricos en la dieta es un factor protector

Geometric Mixing, Peristalsis, and the Geometric Phase of the Stomach

Mixing fluid in a container at low Reynolds number - in an inertialess environment - is not a trivial task. Reciprocating motions merely lead to cycles of mixing and unmixing, so continuous rotation, as used in many technological applications, would appear to be necessary. However, there is another solution: movement of the walls in a cyclical fashion to introduce a geometric phase. We show using journal-bearing flow as a model that such geometric mixing is a general tool for using deformable boundaries that return to the same position to mix fluid at low Reynolds number. We then simulate a biological example: we show that mixing in the stomach functions because of the "belly phase": peristaltic movement of the walls in a cyclical fashion introduces a geometric phase that avoids unmixing.Comment: Revised, published versio

Blockage of angiotensin II type I receptor decreases the synthesis of growth factors and induces apoptosis in C6 cultured cells and C6 rat glioma

Angiotensin II (Ang II) is a main effector peptide in the renin–angiotensin system and participates in the regulation of vascular tone. It also has a role in the expression of growth factors that induce neovascularisation which is closely associated to the growth of malignant gliomas. We have shown that the selective blockage of the AT1 receptor of angiotensin inhibites tumour growth, cell proliferation and angiogenesis of C6 rat glioma. The aim of this study was to study the effects of the blockage of AT1 receptor on the synthesis of growth factors, and in the genesis of apoptosis in cultured C6 glioma cells and in rats with C6 glioma. Administration of losartan at doses of 40 or 80 mg kg−1 to rats with C6 glioma significantly decreased tumoral volume and production of platelet-derived growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor. It also induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Administration of Ang II increased cell proliferation of cultured C6 cells which decreased by the administration of losartan. Our results suggest that the selective blockage of AT1 diminishes tumoral growth through inhibition of growth factors and promotion of apoptosis