Mechanical behavior of irregular fibers part III : the flexural buckling behavior

Fiber buckling behavior is associated with fabric-evoked prickle, which affects clothing comfort and aesthetics. In this paper, the flexural buckling behavior of irregular or nonuniform fibers is studied using the finite element method (FEM). Fiber dimensional irregularities are simulated with sine waves of different magnitude, frequency, and initial phase. The critical buckling loads of the simulated fibers are then calculated from the FE model. The results indicate that increasing the level of irregularity will decrease the critical buckling load of fibers, but the effect of the frequency and initial phase of irregularity on fiber buckling behavior is complicated and is affected by fiber diameter and effective length

Two similar commercial live attenuated AMPV vaccines prepared by random passage of the identical field isolate, have unrelated sequences

Since late \u201880 s Avian metapneumovirus subtype A causes sufficient disease in Europe for commercial companies to have started developing live attenuated vaccines. Here, two of those vaccines were fully consensus sequenced alongside their progenitor field strain (#8544). Sequences comparison shows that the attenuation of field strain #8544 was associated with no common substitutions between the two derived vaccines. This finding suggests that the attenuation of field viruses via serial passage on cell cultures or tissues is the result of a random process, rather than a mechanism aiming to achieve a specific sequence. Furthermore, field vaccination strategies would greatly benefit by the unambiguous vaccine markers identified in this study, enabling a prompt and confident vaccines detection

A trio of month-long flares in the nova-like variable V704 And

We present the discovery of an unusual set of flares in the nova-like variable V704 And. Using data from AAVSO, ASAS-SN, and ZTF for the nova-like variable V704 And, we discovered a trio of brightening events that occurred during the high state. These events elevate the optical brightness of the source from ∼13.5 to ∼12.5 mag. The events last for roughly a month, and exhibit the unusual shape of a slow rise and faster decay. Immediately after the third event, we obtained data from regular monitoring with Swift, although by this time the flares had ceased and the source returned to its pre-flare level of activity in the high state. The Swift observations confirm that during the high state, the source is detectable in the X-rays, and provide simultaneous UV and optical fluxes. As the source is already in the high state prior to the flares, and therefore the disc is expected to already be in the high-viscosity state, we conclude that the driver of the variations must be changes in the mass transfer rate from the companion star and we discuss mechanisms that could lead to such short-timescale mass-transfer variations

Multiwavelength Studies of Young OB Associations

We discuss how contemporary multiwavelength observations of young OB-dominated clusters address long-standing astrophysical questions: Do clusters form rapidly or slowly with an age spread? When do clusters expand and disperse to constitute the field star population? Do rich clusters form by amalgamation of smaller subclusters? What is the pattern and duration of cluster formation in massive star forming regions (MSFRs)? Past observational difficulties in obtaining good stellar censuses of MSFRs have been alleviated in recent studies that combine X-ray and infrared surveys to obtain rich, though still incomplete, censuses of young stars in MSFRs. We describe here one of these efforts, the MYStIX project, that produced a catalog of 31,784 probable members of 20 MSFRs. We find that age spread within clusters are real in the sense that the stars in the core formed after the cluster halo. Cluster expansion is seen in the ensemble of (sub)clusters, and older dispersing populations are found across MSFRs. Direct evidence for subcluster merging is still unconvincing. Long-lived, asynchronous star formation is pervasive across MSFRs.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures. To appear in "The Origin of Stellar Clusters", edited by Steven Stahler, Springer, 2017, in pres

Low-mass pre--main-sequence stars in the Magellanic Clouds

[Abridged] The stellar Initial Mass Function (IMF) suggests that sub-solar stars form in very large numbers. Most attractive places for catching low-mass star formation in the act are young stellar clusters and associations, still (half-)embedded in star-forming regions. The low-mass stars in such regions are still in their pre--main-sequence (PMS) evolutionary phase. The peculiar nature of these objects and the contamination of their samples by the evolved populations of the Galactic disk impose demanding observational techniques for the detection of complete numbers of PMS stars in the Milky Way. The Magellanic Clouds, the companion galaxies to our own, demonstrate an exceptional star formation activity. The low extinction and stellar field contamination in star-forming regions of these galaxies imply a more efficient detection of low-mass PMS stars than in the Milky Way, but their distance from us make the application of special detection techniques unfeasible. Nonetheless, imaging with the Hubble Space Telescope yield the discovery of solar and sub-solar PMS stars in the Magellanic Clouds from photometry alone. Unprecedented numbers of such objects are identified as the low-mass stellar content of their star-forming regions, changing completely our picture of young stellar systems outside the Milky Way, and extending the extragalactic stellar IMF below the persisting threshold of a few solar masses. This review presents the recent developments in the investigation of PMS stars in the Magellanic Clouds, with special focus on the limitations by single-epoch photometry that can only be circumvented by the detailed study of the observable behavior of these stars in the color-magnitude diagram. The achieved characterization of the low-mass PMS stars in the Magellanic Clouds allowed thus a more comprehensive understanding of the star formation process in our neighboring galaxies.Comment: Review paper, 26 pages (in LaTeX style for Springer journals), 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Space Science Review

ELF5 suppresses estrogen sensitivity and underpins the acquisition of antiestrogen resistance in luminal breast cancer

We have previously shown that during pregnancy the E-twenty-six (ETS) transcription factor ELF5 directs the differentiation of mammary progenitor cells toward the estrogen receptor (ER)-negative and milk producing cell lineage, raising the possibility that ELF5 may suppress the estrogen sensitivity of breast cancers. To test this we constructed inducible models of ELF5 expression in ER positive luminal breast cancer cells and interrogated them using transcript profiling and chromatin immunoprecipitation of DNA followed by DNA sequencing (ChIP-Seq). ELF5 suppressed ER and FOXA1 expression and broadly suppressed ER-driven patterns of gene expression including sets of genes distinguishing the luminal molecular subtype. Direct transcriptional targets of ELF5, which included FOXA1, EGFR, and MYC, accurately classified a large cohort of breast cancers into their intrinsic molecular subtypes, predicted ER status with high precision, and defined groups with differential prognosis. Knockdown of ELF5 in basal breast cancer cell lines suppressed basal patterns of gene expression and produced a shift in molecular subtype toward the claudin-low and normal-like groups. Luminal breast cancer cells that acquired resistance to the antiestrogen Tamoxifen showed greatly elevated levels of ELF5 and its transcriptional signature, and became dependent on ELF5 for proliferation, compared to the parental cells. Thus ELF5 provides a key transcriptional determinant of breast cancer molecular subtype by suppression of estrogen sensitivity in luminal breast cancer cells and promotion of basal characteristics in basal breast cancer cells, an action that may be utilised to acquire antiestrogen resistance

Glycoprotein gene truncation in avian metapneumovirus subtype C isolates from the United States

The length of the published glycoprotein (G) gene sequences of avian metapneumovirus subtype-C (aMPV-C) isolated from domestic turkeys and wild birds in the United States (1996–2003) remains controversial. To explore the G gene size variation in aMPV-C by the year of isolation and cell culture passage levels, we examined 21 turkey isolates of aMPV-C at different cell culture passages. The early domestic turkey isolates of aMPV-C (aMPV/CO/1996, aMPV/MN/1a-b, and 2a-b/97) had a G gene of 1,798 nucleotides (nt) that coded for a predicted protein of 585 amino acids (aa) and showed >97% nt similarity with that of aMPV-C isolated from Canada geese. This large G gene got truncated upon serial passages in Vero cell cultures by deletion of 1,015 nt near the end of the open reading frame. The recent domestic turkey isolates of aMPV-C lacked the large G gene but instead had a small G gene of 783 nt, irrespective of cell culture passage levels. In some cultures, both large and small genes were detected, indicating the existence of a mixed population of the virus. Apparently, serial passage of aMPV-C in cell cultures and natural passage in turkeys in the field led to truncation of the G gene, which may be a mechanism of virus evolution for survival in a new host or environment

Segurança e eficácia da técnica de biopsia pulmonar transtorácica percutânea para avaliação histopatológica do parênquima pulmonar de ovinos clinicamente sadios

Foram analisados os resultados e complicações decorrentes do emprego da técnica de biopsia pulmonar transtorácica percutânea em 20 ovinos clinicamente sadios. Os animais foram submetidos ao exame clínico seguido da biopsia com agulha semi-automática no 7º espaço intercostal direito, 5cm acima do olécrano. Foram analisados o número de tentativas para a execução do procedimento e o tamanho dos fragmentos. As amostras obtidas foram avaliadas histologicamente. Posteriormente ao abate, foi realizado o exame pos mortem para avaliação de complicações da técnica e das eventuais lesões provocadas. Entre todos os animais submetidos à biopsia apenas dois demonstraram resistência a técnica, sendo obtidos fragmentos pulmonares de 4-7mm de comprimento, com média de 1,8±1 tentativas por fragmento. As principais alterações relacionadas à técnica foram tosse, dispnéia inspiratória, elevação das freqüências cardíaca e respiratória e aumento do ruído broncobronquiolar. Ao exame post mortem observou-se hemorragia dos músculos intercostais e pleura visceral em todos os animais. Das 20 tentativas de execução da técnica, 18 obtiveram sucesso, enquanto que em duas o fígado foi equivocadamente puncionado. As amostras de tecido pulmonar foram consideradas representativas, pois foi possível a visualização de estruturas íntegras, incluindo bronquíolos e alvéolos. Podemos concluir que a biopsia pulmonar é segura e eficaz para obtenção de amostras pulmonares com fins de diagnóstico histológico.The results and complications arising from use of the percutaneous transthoracic lung biopsy technique in 20 clinically healthy sheep were analyzed. The animals were subjected to clinical examination followed by lung biopsy with a semi-automatic needle in the 7th right intercostal space, 5cm above the olecranon. The number of attempts to implement the procedure and size of the fragments were evaluated. The samples were evaluated histologically. After the slaughter, a postmortem examination assessed the technical complications and possible injuries. Among all animals which underwent biopsy only two did not tolerate the technique. Lung fragments measuring 4-7mm were obtained by an average of 1.8 attempts per fragment. The main changes related to the procedure were cough, labored breathing, increased heart and breathing rate, and increased bronco-bronchiolar sound. The postmortem examination revealed bleeding of the intercostal muscles and visceral pleura of various extend in all lambs, and a wound up to 14mm length in the lung of two animals that did not tolerate the procedure. From 20 attempts to implement the technique, 18 were successful, while in two of them the liver was mistakenly punctured. Samples of lung tissue were representative. It was possible to visualize intact structures, including bronchioles and alveoli. It could be concluded that lung biopsy is a safe and effective procedure to obtain lung samples for histological diagnosis

The genesis of gold mineralisation hosted by orogenic belts: A lead isotope investigation of Irish gold deposits

Lead isotope analyses have been performed on 109 gold and 23 sulphide samples from 34 Irish gold occurrences, including 27 placers, and used to shed light on the sources of mineralising fluids and metals associated with gold mineralisation hosted by orogenic belts. The Pb isotope ratios of lode and placer gold range from 206Pb/204Pb=17.287-18.679, 207Pb/204Pb=15.382-15.661, and 208Pb/204Pb=37.517-38.635, consistent with the Pb isotopic data on previously reported Irish sulphide mineralisation. There is no evidence that gold mineralisation is associated with distinctive source regions, and it appears to have been derived from similar sources to those responsible for the widespread sulphide mineralisation in Ireland. It is inferred that the principal controls on the Au mineralisation are structural and not related to the distribution of Au in their source rocks. The range of Pb isotope ratios favours the interaction of multiple source reservoirs predominantly during the Caledonian Orogeny (c. 475-380Ma). Underlying basement was the primary control on two key sources of Pb. Gold occurrences located to the south-east of the Iapetus Suture are characterised by Pb compositions that derive predominantly from the Late Proterozoic crustal basement or overlying Lower Palaeozoic sediments, whilst those located north-west of the Iapetus Suture are characterised by less radiogenic Pb signatures derived predominantly from Late Proterozoic or older crustal basement. A third source, relatively enriched in radiogenic Pb, also played a role in the formation of a number of Irish gold occurrences, and may have been associated with syn- to post-orogenic intrusives. Magmatic processes may therefore have played an important role in the formation of some orogenic gold occurrences