Waist circumference and VO2max are associated with metabolic and hemostatic risk in premenopausal nurses

In 21 nurses (34.4+/-3.9 yr), VO2max, physical activity, body composition and lifestyle parameters were measured to determine which of these characteristics are related to metabolic and hemostatic risk for cardiovascular disease. Physical activity was assessed with the 7-day recall interview VO2max was measured in a progressive and continuous treadmill test to volitional fatigue. Fasting insulin, total cholesterol, HDL-C, triglycerides, fibrinogen, tPA-act, tPA-ag, and PAI-1-ag were determined from fasting blood samples. Contrary to our expectation, there was no association of physical activity with any of these risk indicators. High VO2max was associated with lower levels of insulin and fibrinogen. Regression analyses indicated that metabolic and hemostatic risk indicators, as measured in healthy premenopausal nurses, were mainly predicted by waist circumference and oral contraceptive use

Microstructural topology effects on the onset of ductile failure in multi-phase materials - a systematic computational approach

Multi-phase materials are key for modern engineering applications. They are generally characterized by a high strength and ductility. Many of these materials fail by ductile fracture of the, generally softer, matrix phase. In this work we systematically study the influence of the arrangement of the phases by correlating the microstructure of a two-phase material to the onset of ductile failure. A single topological feature is identified in which critical levels of damage are consistently indicated. It consists of a small region of the matrix phase with particles of the hard phase on both sides in a direction that depends on the applied deformation. Due to this configuration, a large tensile hydrostatic stress and plastic strain is observed inside the matrix, indicating high damage. This topological feature has, to some extent, been recognized before for certain multi-phase materials. This study however provides insight in the mechanics involved, including the influence of the loading conditions and the arrangement of the phases in the material surrounding the feature. Furthermore, a parameter study is performed to explore the influence of volume fraction and hardness of the inclusion phase. For the same macroscopic hardening response, the ductility is predicted to increase if the volume fraction of the hard phase increases while at the same time its hardness decreases

Fracture initiation in multi-phase materials: a systematic three-dimensional approach using a FFT-based solver

This paper studies a two-phase material with a microstructure composed of a hard brittle reinforcement phase embedded in a soft ductile matrix. It addresses the full three-dimensional nature of the microstructure and macroscopic deformation. A large ensemble of periodic microstructures is used, whereby the individual grains of the two phases are modeled using equi-sized cubes. A particular solution strategy relying on the Fast Fourier Transform is adopted, which has a high computational efficiency both in terms of speed and memory footprint, thus enabling a statistically meaningful analysis. This solution method naturally accompanies the regular microstructural model, as the Fast Fourier Transform relies on a regular grid. Using the many considered microstructures as an ensemble, the average arrangement of phases around fracture initiation sites is objectively identified by the correlation between microstructure and fracture initiation -- in three dimensions. The results show that fracture initiates where regions of the hard phase are interrupted by bands of the soft phase that are aligned with the direction of maximum shear. In such regions, the hard phase is arranged such that the area of the phase boundary perpendicular to the principal strain direction is maximum, leading to high hydrostatic tensile stresses, while not interrupting the shear bands that form in the soft phase. The local incompatibility that is present around the shear bands is responsible for a high plastic strain. By comparing the response to a two-dimensional microstructure it is observed that the response is qualitatively similar (both macroscopically and microscopically). One important difference is that the local strain partitioning between the two phases is over-predicted by the two-dimensional microstructure, leading to an overestimation of damage

Критична рефлексія української античності: етапи та тенденції (Ukrainian antiquity in critical reflection: stages and tendencies)

У статті окреслюються основні етапи критичної рецепції вітчизняним літературознавством ХХ – початку ХХІ ст. явищ українсько-античного діалогу. Визначається зміст й особливості кожного: активна критична рецепція в контексті обґрунтування ідей європеїзму на першому етапі; спад критичної рефлексії й поодинокі дослідження в материковій Україні й переміщення центру аналітики в діаспору на другому етапі; певна реконструкція знань про українську античність разом із деконструкцією радянської ідеології – повернення до естетичних засад наукового аналізу української античності упродовж третього етапу; поліметодологічність«античних» студій, посилення уваги до типологічних узагальнень, актуалізація інтертекстуальних досліджень на четвертому етапі. (The article analyzes critical reception by the Ukrainian literature study of 20th – 21st centuries of the phenomena of Ukrainian-Antique dialogue. The terminological definitions’ diapason of the phenomenon of perception of antiquity as an intertext is analyzed. At the same time it is noted that in the twentieth century the history of scientific reflection of Ukrainian antiquity illustrated general trends of literature study perception of such issues: the classical heritage, its meaning and role in the contemporary literary process; peculiarities of mythopoetics; the study of intertextual relations; the specifics of interpretation of works with intellectual dominant and so on. Stages of «Antique» studies are defined, the content and features of each are determined. Active and critical reception of Ukrainian antiquity in the context of justification of the ideas of Europeanism and definition of cultural and aesthetic reference points in the first stage (1920s); the decline of critical reflection and singular studies in mainland Ukraine and movement of the center of «Antique» studies into Ukrainian diaspora literature in the second stage (from 1928 to the end of 1950s); reconstruction of some knowledge of Ukrainian antiquity (1990s in particular) with deconstruction of Soviet ideology – a return to the aesthetic principles of scientific analysis of Ukrainian antiquity during the third stage (1950 – 1990s); polymethodology of «Antique» studies, increased attention to typological generalizations of artistic phenomena, actualization of intertextual studies in fourth stage (the last decade of the twentieth century and until now).