OPTIMIZING THE EXTRUDABILITY OF 6082 ALUMINUM BY VARYING THE MAGNESIUM AND SILICON CONCENTRATION

Alloy 6082 aluminum is used for high-volume manufacturing in the automotive industry due to its high strength, impact performance, and corrosion resistance. However, given these improved properties, the alloy has decreased formability compared to other 6xxx series alloys, especially in the extrusion process. Controlling the dynamic recovery and recrystallization properties by changing the additions of Mg and Si can improve the hot deformation properties. Five alloys of varying Mg and Si concentrations between 0.6 to 1.2wt% Mg and 0.7 to 1.3wt% Si were made with constant concentrations of Cr, Fe, and Mn and the same homogenization heat treatment. The proposed alloys are tested using hot compression to identify the activation energy for hot deformation at temperatures of 400℃, 450℃, and 500℃ with strain rates of 0.1s-1, 0.01s-1, and 0.001s-1. The resulting compression samples are analyzed using EBSD to identify the fraction recrystallized. The results show that increasing Mg from 0.6 to 1.2wt% decreases the activation energy from 262 to 220 kJ/mol. In contrast, increases in Si from 0.7 to 1.3wt% decreased the recrystallization fraction and increased activation energy from 262 to 292 kJ/mol. An optimal composition range was identified to be a ratio of Mg to Si between 0.8 and 1, as all alloys close to this ratio had low recrystallized fractions and activation energies compared to other alloys tested for the select temperature and strain rate conditions

Field drainage management

Presented at the 2002 USCID/EWRI conference, Energy, climate, environment and water - issues and opportunities for irrigation and drainage on July 9-12 in San Luis Obispo, California.Includes bibliographical references.The Colorado State University Irrigation and Drainage model (CSUID) is a decision support system (DSS) that helps design and/or manage irrigation and drainage systems, which maintain crop productivity while controlling drainage return flows. CSUID includes components for irrigation scheduling; root growth calculations; flow and transport in unsaturated and saturated zones; drain discharge; and crop yield estimates. The DSS runs on a PC with Windows 95/NT. Data for the model is currently being collected from four fields in Colorado's Arkansas River Basin

Validity of self-reported exposure to shift work

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the validity of widely used questionnaire items on work schedule using objective registry data as reference. METHOD: A cohort study of hospital employees who responded to a self-administered questionnaire on work schedule in 2008, 2012 and 2014 and were linked to individual-level pay-roll-based records on work shifts. For predictive validity, leisure-time fatigue was assessed. RESULTS: According to the survey data in 2014 (n=8896), 55% of the day workers had at least 1 year of earlier shift work experience. 8% of the night shift workers changed to day work during the follow-up. Using pay-roll data as reference, questions on ‘shift work with night shifts’ and ‘permanent night work’ showed high sensitivity (96% and 90%) and specificity (92% and 97%). Self-reported ‘regular day work’ showed moderate sensitivity (73%), but high specificity (99%) and ‘shift work without night shifts’ showed low sensitivity (62%) and moderate specificity (87%). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, the age-adjusted, sex-adjusted and baseline fatigue-adjusted association between ‘shift work without night shifts’ and leisure-time fatigue was lower for self-reported compared with objective assessment (1.30, 95% CI 0.94 to 1.82, n=1707 vs 1.89, 95% CI 1.06 to 3.39, n=1627). In contrast, shift work with night shifts, compared with permanent day work, was similarly associated with fatigue in the two assessments (2.04, 95% CI 1.62 to 2.57, n=2311 vs 1.82, 95% CI 1.28 to 2.58, n=1804). CONCLUSIONS: The validity of self-reported assessment of shift work varies between work schedules. Exposure misclassification in self-reported data may contribute to bias towards the null in shift work without night shifts

10. D40TA使用経験(第513回千葉医学会 第5回麻酔科例会 第10回千葉麻酔懇談会)

<p>Parameter sensitivity analysis for parameters related to postprandial insulin dynamics; (A,C,E) Predicted plasma glucose concentrations (mM) (B,D,F). Predicted plasma insulin concentrations (ng/ml).</p

Supervised Lowess normalization of comparative genome hybridization data – application to lactococcal strain comparisons

Background: Array-based comparative genome hybridization (aCGH) is commonly used to determine the genomic content of bacterial strains. Since prokaryotes in general have less conserved genome sequences than eukaryotes, sequence divergences between the genes in the genomes used for an aCGH experiment obstruct determination of genome variations (e.g. deletions). Current normalization methods do not take into consideration sequence divergence between target and microarray features and therefore cannot distinguish a difference in signal due to systematic errors in the data or due to sequence divergence. Results: We present supervised Lowess, or S-Lowess, an application of the subset Lowess normalization method. By using a predicted subset of array features with minimal sequence divergence between the analyzed strains for the normalization procedure we remove systematic errors from dual-dye aCGH data in two steps: (1) determination of a subset of conserved genes (i.e. likely conserved genes, LCG); and (2) using the LCG for subset Lowess normalization. Subset Lowess determines the correction factors for systematic errors in the subset of array features and normalizes all array features using these correction factors. The performance of S-Lowess was assessed on aCGH experiments in which differentially labeled genomic DNA fragments of Lactococcus lactis IL1403 and L. lactis MG1363 strains were hybridized to IL1403 DNA microarrays. Since both genomes are sequenced and gene deletions identified, the success rate of different aCGH normalization methods in detecting these deletions in the MG1363 genome were determined. S-Lowess detects 97% of the deletions, whereas other aCGH normalization methods detect up to only 60% of the deletions. Conclusion: S-Lowess is implemented in a user-friendly web-tool. We demonstrate that it outperforms existing normalization methods and maximizes detection of genomic variation (e.g. deletions) from microbial aCGH data.

The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Module 4:Application of the Revised Algorithms in an Independent, Well-Defined, Dutch Sample (n=93)

This study examined the discriminative ability of the revised Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule module 4 algorithm (Hus and Lord in J Autism Dev Disord 44(8):1996-2012, 2014) in 93 Dutch males with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), schizophrenia, psychopathy or controls. Discriminative ability of the revised algorithm ASD cut-off resembled the original algorithm ASD cut-off: highly specific for psychopathy and controls, lower sensitivity than Hus and Lord (2014; i.e. ASD .61, AD .53). The revised algorithm AD cut-off improved sensitivity over the original algorithm. Discriminating ASD from schizophrenia was still challenging, but the better-balanced sensitivity (.53) and specificity (.78) of the revised algorithm AD cut-off may aide clinicians' differential diagnosis. Findings support using the revised algorithm, being conceptually conform the other modules, thus improving comparability across the lifespan

Gender-related differences in care-seeking behaviour for newborns: a systematic review of the evidence in South Asia.

INTRODUCTION: Data indicate substantial excess mortality among female neonates in South Asia compared with males. We reviewed evidence on sex and gender differences in care-seeking behaviour for neonates as a driver for this. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of literature published between January 1st, 1996 and August 31st, 2016 in Pubmed, Embase, Eldis and Imsear databases, supplemented by grey literature searches. We included observational and experimental studies, and reviews. Two research team members independently screened titles, abstracts and then full texts for inclusion, with disagreements resolved by consensus. Study quality was assessed using National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) checklists and summary judgements given using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria. Data were extracted into Microsoft Excel. RESULTS: Of 614 studies initially identified, 17 studies were included. Low quality evidence across several South Asian countries suggests that care-seeking rates for female neonates are lower than males, especially in households with older female children. Parents are more likely to pay more, and seek care from providers perceived as higher quality, for males than females. Evidence on drivers of these care-seeking behaviours is limited. Care-seeking rates are suboptimal, ranging from 20% to 76% across male and female neonates. CONCLUSION: Higher mortality observed among female neonates in South Asia may be partly explained by differences in care-seeking behaviour, though good quality evidence on drivers for this is lacking. Further research is needed, but policy interventions to improve awareness of causes of neonatal mortality, and work with households with predominantly female children may yield population health benefits. The social, economic and cultural norms that give greater value and preference to boys over girls must also be challenged through the creation of legislation and policy that support greater gender equality, as well as context-specific strategies in partnership with local influencers to change these practices.PROSPERO registration number CRD42016052256

Intrauterine growth restriction and placental angiogenesis

Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic-fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF), and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) are factors that take part in placental angiogenesis. They are highly expressed during embryonic and fetal development, especially in the first trimester. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of placental angiogenesis in the development of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) by comparing the levels of expression of VEGF-A, b-FGF, and eNOS in normal-term pregnancy and IUGR placentas.Methods: The expression of VEGF-A, b-FGF, and eNOS was studied using the avidin-biotin-peroxidase method in placental tissues diagnosed as normal (n = 55) and IUGR (n = 55). Results were evaluated in a semi-quantitative manner.Results: The expression of all the markers was significantly higher (p < 0.001) in cytotrophoblasts, syncytiotrophoblasts, extravillous trophoblasts, vascular smooth muscle cells, chorionic villous stromal cells, and villous vascular endothelial cells of the IUGR placentas when compared with those collected from normal-term pregnancies.Conclusion: Increased expression of VEGF-A, b-FGF, and eNOS may be the result of inadequate uteroplacental perfusion, supporting the proposal that abnormal angiogenesis plays a role in the pathophysiology of IUGR. © 2010 Barut et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Prolonged Sleep Restriction Affects Glucose Metabolism in Healthy Young Men

Peer reviewe