1,259 research outputs found
Anatomical and biomechanical traits of broiler chickens across ontogeny. Part II. Body segment inertial properties and muscle architecture of the pelvic limb
In broiler chickens, genetic success for desired production traits is often shadowed by welfare concerns related to musculoskeletal health. Whilst these concerns are clear, a viable solution is still elusive. Part of the solution lies in knowing how anatomical changes in afflicted body systems that occur across ontogeny influence standing and moving. Here, to demonstrate these changes we quantify the segment inertial properties of the whole body, trunk (legs removed) and the right pelvic limb segments of five broilers at three different age groups across development. We also consider how muscle architecture (mass, fascicle length and other properties related to mechanics) changes for selected muscles of the pelvic limb. All broilers used had no observed lameness, but we document the limb pathologies identified post mortem, since these two factors do not always correlate, as shown here. The most common leg disorders, including bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis and rotational and angular deformities of the lower limb, were observed in chickens at all developmental stages. Whole limb morphology is not uniform relative to body size, with broilers obtaining large thighs and feet between four and six weeks of age. This implies that the energetic cost of swinging the limbs is markedly increased across this growth period, perhaps contributing to reduced activity levels. Hindlimb bone length does not change during this period, which may be advantageous for increased stability despite the increased energetic costs. Increased pectoral muscle growth appears to move the centre of mass cranio-dorsally in the last two weeks of growth. This has direct consequences for locomotion (potentially greater limb muscle stresses during standing and moving). Our study is the first to measure these changes in the musculoskeletal system across growth in chickens, and reveals how artificially selected changes of the morphology of the pectoral apparatus may cause deficits in locomotion
Electronic structure and total energy of interstitial hydrogen in iron: Tight binding models
An application of the tight binding approximation is presented for the
description of electronic structure and interatomic force in magnetic iron,
both pure and containing hydrogen impurities. We assess the simple canonical
d-band description in comparison to a non orthogonal model including s and d
bands. The transferability of our models is tested against known properties
including the segregation energies of hydrogen to vacancies and to surfaces of
iron. In many cases agreement is remarkably good, opening up the way to quantum
mechanical atomistic simulation of the effects of hydrogen on mechanical
properties
The influence of hydrogen on plasticity in pure iron-theory and experiment
Tensile stress relaxation is combined with transmission electron microscopy
to reveal dramatic changes in dislocation structure and sub structure in pure
alpha iron as a result of the effects of dissolved hydrogen. We find that
hydrogen charged specimens after plastic deformation display a very
characteristic pattern of trailing dipoles and prismatic loops which are absent
in uncharged pure metal. We explain these observations by use of a new self
consistent kinetic Monte Carlo model, which in fact was initially used to
predict the now observed microstructure. The results of this combined theory
and experimental study is to shed light on the fundamental mechanism of
hydrogen enhanced localised plasticity
Vibrational Instability of Metal-Poor Low-Mass Main-Sequence Stars
We find that low-degree low-order g-modes become unstable in metal-poor
low-mass stars due to the -mechanism of the pp-chain. Since the
outer convection zone of these stars is limited only to the very outer layers,
the uncertainty in the treatment of convection does not affect the result
significantly. The decrease in metallicity leads to decrease in opacity and
hence increase in luminosity of a star. This makes the star compact and results
in decrease in the density contrast, which is favorable to the
-mechanism instability. We find also instability for high order
g-modes of metal-poor low-mass stars by the convective blocking mechanism.
Since the effective temperature and the luminosity of metal-poor stars are
significantly higher than those of Pop I stars, the stars showing
Dor-type pulsation are substantially less massive than in the case of Pop I
stars. We demonstrate that those modes are unstable for about
stars in the metal-poor case.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, To be published in Astrophysics and Space Science
Proceedings series (ASSP). Proceedings of the "20th Stellar Pulsation
Conference Series: Impact of new instrumentation and new insights in stellar
pulsations", 5-9 September 2011, Granada, Spai
The stabilizing role of itinerant ferromagnetism in inter-granular cohesion in iron
We present a simple, general energy functional for ferromagnetic materials
based upon a local spin density extension to the Stoner theory of itinerant
ferromagnetism. The functional reproduces well available ab initio results and
experimental interfacial energies for grain boundaries in iron. The model shows
that inter-granular cohesion along symmetric tilt boundaries in iron is
dependent upon strong magnetic structure at the interface, illuminates the
mechanisms underlying this structure, and provides a simple explanation for
relaxation of the atomic structure at these boundaries.Comment: In review at Phys. Rev. Lett. Submitted 23 September 1997; revised 16
March 199
Structural and chemical embrittlement of grain boundaries by impurities: a general theory and first principles calculations for copper
First principles calculations of the Sigma 5 (310)[001] symmetric tilt grain
boundary in Cu with Bi, Na, and Ag substitutional impurities provide evidence
that in the phenomenon of Bi embrittlement of Cu grain boundaries electronic
effects do not play a major role; on the contrary, the embrittlement is mostly
a structural or "size" effect. Na is predicted to be nearly as good an
embrittler as Bi, whereas Ag does not embrittle the boundary in agreement with
experiment. While we reject the prevailing view that "electronic" effects
(i.e., charge transfer) are responsible for embrittlement, we do not exclude
the role of chemistry. However numerical results show a striking equivalence
between the alkali metal Na and the semi metal Bi, small differences being
accounted for by their contrasting "size" and "softness" (defined here). In
order to separate structural and chemical effects unambiguously if not
uniquely, we model the embrittlement process by taking the system of grain
boundary and free surfaces through a sequence of precisely defined gedanken
processes; each of these representing a putative mechanism. We thereby identify
three mechanisms of embrittlement by substitutional impurities, two of which
survive in the case of embrittlement or cohesion enhancement by interstitials.
Two of the three are purely structural and the third contains both structural
and chemical elements that by their very nature cannot be further unravelled.
We are able to take the systems we study through each of these stages by
explicit computer simulations and assess the contribution of each to the nett
reduction in intergranular cohesion. The conclusion we reach is that
embrittlement by both Bi and Na is almost exclusively structural in origin;
that is, the embrittlement is a size effect.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures; Accepted in Phys. Rev.
Performance of an acousto-optic Bragg cell under ion microbeam irradiation
An acousto optic (AO) deflector composed of PbMoO{sub 4} was exposed to 4 MeV protons while operating under Bragg angle conditions. An ion beam in air of 1 mm width was directed normal to the crystal face and laser beam. Between exposures, the approximately 13 mm x 8.5 mm AO deflector was mechanically translated in two dimensions in front of the fixed ion beam. The AO diffraction efficiency was mapped and was observed to change as a function of ion beam location and dose rate. These effects are attributed to the induced change in the temperature distribution of the crystal, which changed the sonic velocity and refractive index. Similar effects were observed when the ion beam was directed at the acoustic transducer
A tight binding model for water
We demonstrate for the first time a tight binding model for water
incorporating polarizable anions. A novel aspect is that we adopt a "ground up"
approach in that properties of the monomer and dimer only are fitted.
Subsequently we make predictions of the structure and properties of hexamer
clusters, ice-XI and liquid water. A particular feature, missing in current
tight binding and semiempirical hamiltonians, is that we reproduce the almost
two-fold increase in molecular dipole moment as clusters are built up towards
the limit of bulk liquid. We concentrate on properties of liquid water which
are very well rendered in comparison with experiment and published density
functional calculations. Finally we comment on the question of the contrasting
densities of water and ice which is central to an understanding of the
subtleties of the hydrogen bond
Recommended from our members
The Future Steelmaking Industry and Its Technologies
The objective of this report is to develop a vision of the future steelmaking industry including its general characteristics and technologies. In addition, the technical obstacles and research and development opportunities for commercialization of these technologies are identified. The report is being prepared by the Sloan Steel Industry Competitiveness Study with extensive input from the industry. Industry input has been through AISI (American Iron and Steel Institute), SMA (Steel Manufacturers Association) and contacts with individual company executives and technical leaders. The report identifies the major industry drivers which will influence technological developments in the industry for the next 5--25 years. Initially, the role of past drivers in shaping the current industry was examined to help understand the future developments. Whereas this report concentrates on future technologies other major factors such as national and international competition, human resource management and capital concerns are examined to determine their influence on the future industry. The future industry vision does not specify specific technologies but rather their general characteristics. Finally, the technical obstacles and the corresponding research and development required for commercialization are detailed
- …