The nonlinear viscoelastic response of resin matrix composite laminates

Possible treatments of the nonlinear viscoelastic behavior of materials are reviewed. A thermodynamic based approach, developed by Schapery, is discussed and used to interpret the nonlinear viscoelastic response of a graphite epoxy laminate, T300/934. Test data to verify the analysis for Fiberite 934 neat resin as well as transverse and shear properties of the unidirectional T300/934 composited are presented. Long time creep characteristics as a function of stress level and temperature are generated. Favorable comparisons between the traditional, graphical, and the current analytical approaches are shown. A free energy based rupture criterion is proposed as a way to estimate the life that remains in a structure at any time

General dynamics of the physical-chemical systems in mammals

Biodynamic regulator chain models for physical chemical systems in mammal

Stellar Rotation in Young Clusters. II. Evolution of Stellar Rotation and Surface Helium Abundance

We derive the effective temperatures and gravities of 461 OB stars in 19 young clusters by fitting the H-gamma profile in their spectra. We use synthetic model profiles for rotating stars to develop a method to estimate the polar gravity for these stars, which we argue is a useful indicator of their evolutionary status. We combine these results with projected rotational velocity measurements obtained in a previous paper on these same open clusters. We find that the more massive B-stars experience a spin down as predicted by the theories for the evolution of rotating stars. Furthermore, we find that the members of binary stars also experience a marked spin down with advanced evolutionary state due to tidal interactions. We also derive non-LTE-corrected helium abundances for most of the sample by fitting the He I 4026, 4387, 4471 lines. A large number of helium peculiar stars are found among cooler stars with Teff < 23000 K. The analysis of the high mass stars (8.5 solar masses < M < 16 solar masses) shows that the helium enrichment process progresses through the main sequence (MS) phase and is greater among the faster rotators. This discovery supports the theoretical claim that rotationally induced internal mixing is the main cause of surface chemical anomalies that appear during the MS phase. The lower mass stars appear to have slower rotation rates among the low gravity objects, and they have a large proportion of helium peculiar stars. We suggest that both properties are due to their youth. The low gravity stars are probably pre-main sequence objects that will spin up as they contract. These young objects very likely host a remnant magnetic field from their natal cloud, and these strong fields sculpt out surface regions with unusual chemical abundances.Comment: 50 pages 18 figures, accepted by Ap

Probing high pressure properties of single wall carbon nanotubes through fullerene encapsulation

The high pressure behavior of bundled 1.35±0.1nm diameter single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) filled with C70 fullerenes (usually called peapods) has been investigated by Raman spectroscopy and compared with the corresponding behavior of the nonfilled SWNT. We show experimentally that two reversible pressure-induced transitions take place in the compressed bundle SWNT. The first transition, in the 2–2.5GPa range, is in good correspondence with predictions of the thermodynamic instability of the nanotube circular cross section for the studied tube diameter. An interaction between the fullerenes and the tube walls is then observed at about 3.5GPa, which evidences a progressive deformation of the tube cross section. The second transition takes place at pressures between 10 and 30GPa, and is evidenced by two effects by a strong frequency downshift of the Raman transverse modes and the concomitant disappearance of the fullerenes Raman modes in peapods. The pressure at which the second transition takes place is strongly dependent on the nature of the pressure transmitting medium. We also report irreversible effects at high pressure as the shortening of the tubes, the formation of nanostructures and the disappearance of the C70 Raman signal in some cases. Transmission electron microscopy studies are also reported supporting these transformations

The effect of different types of hepatic injury on the estrogen and androgen receptor activity of liver

Mammalian liver contains receptors for both estrogens and androgens. Hepatic regeneration after partial hepatectomy in male rats is associated with a loss of certain male-specific hepatic characteristics. In this study we investigated the effects of lesser forms of hepatic injury on the levels of estrogen and androgen receptor activity in the liver. Adult male rats were subjected to portacaval shunt, partial portal vein ligation, hepatic artery ligation, or two-thirds partial hepatectomy. Another group of animals was treated with cyclosporine. At the time of sacrifice the livers were removed and used to determine the estrogen and androgen receptor activity in the hepatic cytosol. A significant reduction (p < 0.05) in the hepatic cytosolic androgen receptor activity and a slight increase in the estrogen receptor activity occurred following total portosystemic shunting. Partial ligation of the portal vein, which produces a lesser degree of portosystemic shunting, had no effect on the levels of the estrogen and androgen receptor activity present within hepatic cytosol. Cyclosporine-treated animals had significantly greater (p < 0.01) levels of estrogen receptor activity in the hepatic cytosol compared to vehicle-treated control animals. Levels of estrogen and androgen receptor activity within the hepatic cytosol remained unchanged after ligation of the hepatic artery. The reduction in the cytosolic estrogen and androgen receptor activity in the liver after partial hepatectomy was confirmed. In summary, certain types of hepatic injury are associated with profound changes in the estrogen and androgen receptor content within the liver. © 1989 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted

Effect of cyclosporine on hepatic cytosolic estrogen and androgen receptor levels before and after partial hepatectomy

Estrogen and androgen receptors within the liver have been reported to modulate the hepatic regenerative response to partial hepatectomy. Moreover, cyclosporine has several untoward effects that might occur as a consequence of alterations in sex hormone activity. To evaluate these questions the following experiments were performed. Estrogen and androgen receptors in cytosol were quantitated in livers of rats treated with cyclosporine or olive oil vehicle before and after partial hepatectomy or a sham operation. Ornithine decarboxylase activity and thymidine kinase activity were assessed as indices of hepatic regeneration. Preoperative levels of estrogen receptor activity in the hepatic cytosol were significantly greater in rats treated with cyclosporine as compared to vehicle treated controls (P<0.01). In contrast, preoperative levels of androgen receptor activity in the cyclosporine-treated and vehicle-treated animals were similar. Following partial hepatectomy, a reduction in the activity of both sex hormone receptors in the hepatic cytosol was observed and was compatible with results described previously in normal animals. Unexpectedly the preoperative levels of ornithine decarboxylase (P<0.01) and thymidine kinase activity (P<0.01) were significantly greater in the rats treated with cyclosporine as compared to the vehicle treated controls. As expected, ornithine decarboxylase activity (at 6 hr) and thymidine kinase activity (at 24 hr) rose and peaked in response to a partial hepatectomy but were significantly greater (P<0.05) in the rats treated with cyclosporine as compared to the vehicle. These results show that cyclosporine treatment causes an increase in the hepatic content of estrogen receptor activity that is associated with an enhanced potential for a regenerative response. These effects of cyclosporine treatment on the sex hormone receptor levels in liver may explain the mechanisms responsible for some of the untoward effects of treatment with this agent. © 1990 Plenum Publishing Corporation

Social Interactions vs Revisions, What is important for Promotion in Wikipedia?

In epistemic community, people are said to be selected on their knowledge contribution to the project (articles, codes, etc.) However, the socialization process is an important factor for inclusion, sustainability as a contributor, and promotion. Finally, what does matter to be promoted? being a good contributor? being a good animator? knowing the boss? We explore this question looking at the process of election for administrator in the English Wikipedia community. We modeled the candidates according to their revisions and/or social attributes. These attributes are used to construct a predictive model of promotion success, based on the candidates's past behavior, computed thanks to a random forest algorithm. Our model combining knowledge contribution variables and social networking variables successfully explain 78% of the results which is better than the former models. It also helps to refine the criterion for election. If the number of knowledge contributions is the most important element, social interactions come close second to explain the election. But being connected with the future peers (the admins) can make the difference between success and failure, making this epistemic community a very social community too

Design of a Two-level Adaptive Multi-Agent System for Malaria Vectors driven by an ontology

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The understanding of heterogeneities in disease transmission dynamics as far as malaria vectors are concerned is a big challenge. Many studies while tackling this problem don't find exact models to explain the malaria vectors propagation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To solve the problem we define an Adaptive Multi-Agent System (AMAS) which has the property to be elastic and is a two-level system as well. This AMAS is a dynamic system where the two levels are linked by an Ontology which allows it to function as a reduced system and as an extended system. In a primary level, the AMAS comprises organization agents and in a secondary level, it is constituted of analysis agents. Its entry point, a User Interface Agent, can reproduce itself because it is given a minimum of background knowledge and it learns appropriate "behavior" from the user in the presence of ambiguous queries and from other agents of the AMAS in other situations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Some of the outputs of our system present a series of tables, diagrams showing some factors like Entomological parameters of malaria transmission, Percentages of malaria transmission per malaria vectors, Entomological inoculation rate. Many others parameters can be produced by the system depending on the inputted data.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our approach is an intelligent one which differs from statistical approaches that are sometimes used in the field. This intelligent approach aligns itself with the distributed artificial intelligence. In terms of fight against malaria disease our system offers opportunities of reducing efforts of human resources who are not obliged to cover the entire territory while conducting surveys. Secondly the AMAS can determine the presence or the absence of malaria vectors even when specific data have not been collected in the geographical area. In the difference of a statistical technique, in our case the projection of the results in the field can sometimes appeared to be more general.</p

A preliminary study of genetic factors that influence susceptibility to bovine tuberculosis in the British cattle herd

Associations between specific host genes and susceptibility to Mycobacterial infections such as tuberculosis have been reported in several species. Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) impacts greatly the UK cattle industry, yet genetic predispositions have yet to be identified. We therefore used a candidate gene approach to study 384 cattle of which 160 had reacted positively to an antigenic skin test (‘reactors’). Our approach was unusual in that it used microsatellite markers, embraced high breed diversity and focused particularly on detecting genes showing heterozygote advantage, a mode of action often overlooked in SNP-based studies. A panel of neutral markers was used to control for population substructure and using a general linear model-based approach we were also able to control for age. We found that substructure was surprisingly weak and identified two genomic regions that were strongly associated with reactor status, identified by markers INRA111 and BMS2753. In general the strength of association detected tended to vary depending on whether age was included in the model. At INRA111 a single genotype appears strongly protective with an overall odds ratio of 2.2, the effect being consistent across nine diverse breeds. Our results suggest that breeding strategies could be devised that would appreciably increase genetic resistance of cattle to bTB (strictly, reduce the frequency of incidence of reactors) with implications for the current debate concerning badger-culling

Polymorphisms in MGP gene and their association with lead toxicity

Matrix γ-carboxy glutamic acid protein (MGP) is a 10-kDa secreted protein containing five residues of the vitamin K-dependent calcium binding amino acid γ-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla). This study was carried out to examine the effects of MGP gene promoter polymorphism (T-138C) on blood lead levels (BLL) and hematological parameters in 113 battery manufacturing unit workers occupationally exposed to lead and 102 controls. Genotypes for the MGP T-138C polymorphism were determined by PCR and restriction fragment length digestion. BLL were determined by Anode Stripping Voltammetry using ESA Model 3010B Lead analyzer. Complete blood picture (CBP) was analyzed using ADVIA Cell counter for each sample. The frequencies of MGP–TT, CT and CC genotypes in our population were 38.6%, 44.3%, and 17.2%, respectively. The frequencies for T and C alleles were 0.612 and 0.386, respectively. Although BLL did not differ significantly among genotypes; they were higher in workers with TT/CT genotype compared to CC genotype subjects (76–88 μg/dL vs 22–45 μg/dL, p > 0.05). About 29.2% of volunteers (n = 33) from the occupationally exposed group had hemoglobin levels below 10.0 gms/dl. There was no significant difference in total white cell count and platelet count between occupational and non-exposed groups. The possible role of SNPs in the promoter region of MGP gene with relation to lead toxicity was investigated for the first time in the Indian population; although significance could not be achieved in this study, further assessments over a larger population size may help in better understanding of the consequences of lead exposure