Detailed design of a lattice composite fuselage structure by a mixed optimization method

In this paper, a procedure for designing a lattice fuselage barrel has been developed and it comprises three stages: first, topology optimization of an aircraft fuselage barrel has been performed with respect to weight and structural performance to obtain the conceptual design. The interpretation of the optimal result is given to demonstrate the development of this new lattice airframe concept for the fuselage barrel. Subsequently, parametric optimization of the lattice aircraft fuselage barrel has been carried out using Genetic Algorithms on metamodels generated with Genetic Programming from a 101-point optimal Latin hypercube design of experiments. The optimal design has been achieved in terms of weight savings subject to stability, global stiffness and strain requirements and then was verified by the fine mesh finite element simulation of the lattice fuselage barrel. Finally, a practical design of the composite skin complying with the aircraft industry lay-up rules has been presented. It is concluded that the mixed optimization method, combining topology optimization with the global metamodel-based approach, has allowed to solve the problem with sufficient accuracy as well as provided the designers with a wealth of information on the structural behaviour of the novel anisogrid composite fuselage design

Core reconstruction in pseudopotential calculations

A new method is presented for obtaining all-electron results from a pseudopotential calculation. This is achieved by carrying out a localised calculation in the region of an atomic nucleus using the embedding potential method of Inglesfield [J.Phys. C {\bf 14}, 3795 (1981)]. In this method the core region is \emph{reconstructed}, and none of the simplifying approximations (such as spherical symmetry of the charge density/potential or frozen core electrons) that previous solutions to this problem have required are made. The embedding method requires an accurate real space Green function, and an analysis of the errors introduced in constructing this from a set of numerical eigenstates is given. Results are presented for an all-electron reconstruction of bulk aluminium, for both the charge density and the density of states.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

Circadian gene x environment perturbations influence alcohol drinking in Cryptochrome-deficient mice

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a widespread addiction disorder with severe consequences for health. AUD patients often suffer from sleep disturbances and irregular daily patterns. Conversely, disruptions of circadian rhythms are considered a risk factor for AUD and alcohol relapses. In this study, we investigated the extent to which circadian genetic and environmental disruptions and their interaction alter alcohol drinking behaviour in mice. As a model of genetic circadian disruption, we used Cryptochrome1/2-deficient (Cry1/2(-/-)) mice with strongly suppressed circadian rhythms and found that they exhibit significantly reduced preference for alcohol but increased incentive motivation to obtain it. Similarly, we found that low circadian SCN amplitude correlates with reduced alcohol preference in WT mice. Moreover, we show that the low alcohol preference of Cry1/2(-/-) mice concurs with high corticosterone and low levels of the orexin precursor prepro-orexin and that WT and Cry1/2(-/-) mice respond differently to alcohol withdrawal. As a model of environmentally induced disruption of circadian rhythms, we exposed mice to a "shift work" light/dark regimen, which also leads to a reduction in their alcohol preference. Interestingly, this effect is even more pronounced when genetic and environmental circadian perturbations interact in Cry1/2(-/-) mice under "shift work" conditions. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that in mice, disturbances in circadian rhythms have pronounced effects on alcohol consumption as well as on physiological factors and other behaviours associated with AUD and that the interaction between circadian genetic and environmental disturbances further alters alcohol consumption behaviour