Experimental Characterisation of GLass Aluminum REinforced (GLARE™) laminates

Fibre metal laminates such as GLARE™ have found promising application in the aerospace industry. These laminates were developed at the structures and materials laboratory of Delft University of Technology, Netherlands. GLARE™ is a material belonging to the family of Fibre Metal Laminates consisting of thin aluminum layers bonded with unidirectional S2-Glass fibres with an adhesive. Aluminum and S2-Glass when combined as a hybrid material can provide best features of the both metals and composites. These materials have excellent fatigue, impact and damage tolerance characteristics and a lower density compared to aluminum. GLARE™ has found major application in front and aft upper fuselage, leading edges of empennages of advanced civil aircrafts like A380. This document looks into the evaluation of two configuration of GLARE™ for its mechanical and impact characteristics. The mechanical characterisation was carried out for tensile, compression, Flexure, ILSS, Open Hole Tension, Open Hole Compression and Shear (Iosipescu). The impact behaviour were characterised based on a low velocity drop weight impact carried on these laminates. The study shows that the basic properties evaluated were more dictated by the property of the S2-Glass used. The studies show that GLARE™ laminates posses’ high impact damage resistance compared to other composite material. All the test datas generated for this study will be brought out in this document

Estimates of linkage disequilibrium and effective population size in rainbow trout

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The use of molecular genetic technologies for broodstock management and selective breeding of aquaculture species is becoming increasingly more common with the continued development of genome tools and reagents. Several laboratories have produced genetic maps for rainbow trout to aid in the identification of loci affecting phenotypes of interest. These maps have resulted in the identification of many quantitative/qualitative trait loci affecting phenotypic variation in traits associated with albinism, disease resistance, temperature tolerance, sex determination, embryonic development rate, spawning date, condition factor and growth. Unfortunately, the elucidation of the precise allelic variation and/or genes underlying phenotypic diversity has yet to be achieved in this species having low marker densities and lacking a whole genome reference sequence. Experimental designs which integrate segregation analyses with linkage disequilibrium (LD) approaches facilitate the discovery of genes affecting important traits. To date the extent of LD has been characterized for humans and several agriculturally important livestock species but not for rainbow trout.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We observed that the level of LD between syntenic loci decayed rapidly at distances greater than 2 cM which is similar to observations of LD in other agriculturally important species including cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens. However, in some cases significant LD was also observed up to 50 cM. Our estimate of effective population size based on genome wide estimates of LD for the NCCCWA broodstock population was 145, indicating that this population will respond well to high selection intensity. However, the range of effective population size based on individual chromosomes was 75.51 - 203.35, possibly indicating that suites of genes on each chromosome are disproportionately under selection pressures.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results indicate that large numbers of markers, more than are currently available for this species, will be required to enable the use of genome-wide integrated mapping approaches aimed at identifying genes of interest in rainbow trout.</p

Characterization of Trapped Lignin-Degrading Microbes in Tropical Forest Soil

Lignin is often the most difficult portion of plant biomass to degrade, with fungi generally thought to dominate during late stage decomposition. Lignin in feedstock plant material represents a barrier to more efficient plant biomass conversion and can also hinder enzymatic access to cellulose, which is critical for biofuels production. Tropical rain forest soils in Puerto Rico are characterized by frequent anoxic conditions and fluctuating redox, suggesting the presence of lignin-degrading organisms and mechanisms that are different from known fungal decomposers and oxygen-dependent enzyme activities. We explored microbial lignin-degraders by burying bio-traps containing lignin-amended and unamended biosep beads in the soil for 1, 4, 13 and 30 weeks. At each time point, phenol oxidase and peroxidase enzyme activity was found to be elevated in the lignin-amended versus the unamended beads, while cellulolytic enzyme activities were significantly depressed in lignin-amended beads. Quantitative PCR of bacterial communities showed more bacterial colonization in the lignin-amended compared to the unamended beads after one and four weeks, suggesting that the lignin supported increased bacterial abundance. The microbial community was analyzed by small subunit 16S ribosomal RNA genes using microarray (PhyloChip) and by high-throughput amplicon pyrosequencing based on universal primers targeting bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic communities. Community trends were significantly affected by time and the presence of lignin on the beads. Lignin-amended beads have higher relative abundances of representatives from the phyla Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria compared to unamended beads. This study suggests that in low and fluctuating redox soils, bacteria could play a role in anaerobic lignin decomposition

Aloe barbadensis: how a miraculous plant becomes reality

Aloe barbadensis Miller is a plant that is native to North and East Africa and has accompanied man for over 5,000 years. The aloe vera plant has been endowed with digestive, dermatological, culinary and cosmetic virtues. On this basis, aloe provides a range of possibilities for fascinating studies from several points of view, including the analysis of chemical composition, the biochemistry involved in various activities and its application in pharmacology, as well as from horticultural and economic standpoints. The use of aloe vera as a medicinal plant is mentioned in numerous ancient texts such as the Bible. This multitude of medicinal uses has been described and discussed for centuries, thus transforming this miracle plant into reality. A summary of the historical uses, chemical composition and biological activities of this species is presented in this review. The latest clinical studies involved in vivo and in vitro assays conducted with aloe vera gel or its metabolites and the results of these studies are reviewed

Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population-representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults

Background Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. Methods We used data from 3663 population-based studies with 222 million participants that measured height and weight in representative samples of the general population. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends in the prevalence of different BMI categories, separately for adults (age ≥20 years) and school-aged children and adolescents (age 5–19 years), from 1990 to 2022 for 200 countries and territories. For adults, we report the individual and combined prevalence of underweight (BMI 2 SD above the median). Findings From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity in adults decreased in 11 countries (6%) for women and 17 (9%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 that the observed changes were true decreases. The combined prevalence increased in 162 countries (81%) for women and 140 countries (70%) for men with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. In 2022, the combined prevalence of underweight and obesity was highest in island nations in the Caribbean and Polynesia and Micronesia, and countries in the Middle East and north Africa. Obesity prevalence was higher than underweight with posterior probability of at least 0·80 in 177 countries (89%) for women and 145 (73%) for men in 2022, whereas the converse was true in 16 countries (8%) for women, and 39 (20%) for men. From 1990 to 2022, the combined prevalence of thinness and obesity decreased among girls in five countries (3%) and among boys in 15 countries (8%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80, and increased among girls in 140 countries (70%) and boys in 137 countries (69%) with a posterior probability of at least 0·80. The countries with highest combined prevalence of thinness and obesity in school-aged children and adolescents in 2022 were in Polynesia and Micronesia and the Caribbean for both sexes, and Chile and Qatar for boys. Combined prevalence was also high in some countries in south Asia, such as India and Pakistan, where thinness remained prevalent despite having declined. In 2022, obesity in school-aged children and adolescents was more prevalent than thinness with a posterior probability of at least 0·80 among girls in 133 countries (67%) and boys in 125 countries (63%), whereas the converse was true in 35 countries (18%) and 42 countries (21%), respectively. In almost all countries for both adults and school-aged children and adolescents, the increases in double burden were driven by increases in obesity, and decreases in double burden by declining https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/images/research_banner_face_lab_290.jpgunderweight or thinness. Interpretation The combined burden of underweight and obesity has increased in most countries, driven by an increase in obesity, while underweight and thinness remain prevalent in south Asia and parts of Africa. A healthy nutrition transition that enhances access to nutritious foods is needed to address the remaining burden of underweight while curbing and reversing the increase in obesity

Evaluation of Fastener Pull Through Resistance of Aluminum

Bird-strike is a potentially serious and damaging event for the leading edges of aircrafts. The leading edges of wing and empennage structures are required to meet the regulatory FAR 25.571 and 25.631 respectively for any bird strike damage. One of the design methodologies followed in the leading edge is to have skin, rib and baffle so that incase of penetration of the skin, the baffle will prevent the bird from impacting on the spar. During bird impact on such leading edges, the fasteners in baffle plate are subjected to pull through tensile forces due to buckling of the skin. Hence, skin to baffle connection is important and its pull through strength is an important parameter which needs to be estimated for different fastener types and material configurations. The pull through strength is determined from the maximum load taken by the rivets before the rivets get pulled out through the thickness of the aluminum plates or before rivet head/bulb failure occurs. This report discusses the test carried out on aluminum plate with different types of rivets and rivet fastening configuration as per ASTM D 7332 procedure. These tests were performed for aluminum plate connected to the test fixture through the following rivets viz., steel, aluminum (heat treated & Non-heat treated) for 2 different diameters. The failure mode, pull through strength were evaluated and based on these tests, a suitable rivet (material, diameter) was recommended for use in the leading edge assembly