Genome-wide association meta-analysis of corneal curvature identifies novel loci and shared genetic influences across axial length and refractive error.

Corneal curvature, a highly heritable trait, is a key clinical endophenotype for myopia - a major cause of visual impairment and blindness in the world. Here we present a trans-ethnic meta-analysis of corneal curvature GWAS in 44,042 individuals of Caucasian and Asian with replication in 88,218 UK Biobank data. We identified 47 loci (of which 26 are novel), with population-specific signals as well as shared signals across ethnicities. Some identified variants showed precise scaling in corneal curvature and eye elongation (i.e. axial length) to maintain eyes in emmetropia (i.e. HDAC11/FBLN2 rs2630445, RBP3 rs11204213); others exhibited association with myopia with little pleiotropic effects on eye elongation. Implicated genes are involved in extracellular matrix organization, developmental process for body and eye, connective tissue cartilage and glycosylation protein activities. Our study provides insights into population-specific novel genes for corneal curvature, and their pleiotropic effect in regulating eye size or conferring susceptibility to myopia

Phonon lifetime investigation of anharmonicity and thermal conductivity of UO2 by neutron scattering and theory

Inelastic neutron scattering measurements of individual phonon lifetimes and dispersion at 295 and 1200 K have been used to probe anharmonicity and thermal conductivity in UO2. They show that longitudinal optic phonon modes carry the largest amount of heat, in contrast to past simulations and that the total conductivity demonstrates a quantitative correspondence between microscopic and macroscopic phonon physics. We have further performed first-principles simulations for UO2 showing semiquantitative agreement with phonon lifetimes at 295 K, but larger anharmonicity than measured at 1200 K. \ua9 2013 American Physical Society.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Effect of cyclic plasticity on internal stresses in a metal matrix composite

Neutron diffraction has been used to measure the elastic strains in a silicon carbide particle-reinforced aluminium alloy during cyclic plasticity. Strains were recorded in both phases of the material, in sufficient directions to allow for calculation of the internal stresses. The shape misfit stress in the composite was calculated from the macroscopic stress data using an Eshelby-based model. Changes in the misfit stress caused by plastic deformation can be clearly observed. Local plastic anisotropy of the matrix material is also seen, and was monitored by comparing results from the two diffraction planes, {111} and {200}, that were measured. The results have been compared to those obtained using an elasto-plastic self-consistent modelling approach, which shows the evolution of load sharing between the matrix and reinforcement, as well as the origin of the plastic anisotropy strains in the aluminium

Residual stresses in inertia-friction-welded dissimilar high-strength steels

The welding of dissimilar alloys is seen increasingly as a way forward to improve efficiencies in modern aeroengines, because it allows one to tailor varying material property demands across a component. Dissimilar inertia friction welding (IFW) of two high-strength steels, Aermet 100 and S/CMV, has been identified as a possible joint for rotating gas turbine components and the resulting welds are investigated in this article. In order to understand the impact of the welding process and predict the life expectancy of such structures, a detailed understanding of the residual stress fields present in the welded component is needed. By combining energy-dispersive synchrotron X-ray diffraction (EDSXRD) and neutron diffraction, it has been possible to map the variations in lattice spacing of the ferritic phase on both sides of two tubular Aermet 100-S/CMV inertia friction welds (as-welded and postweld heat-treated condition) with a wall thickness of 37 mm. Laboratory-based XRD measurements were required to take into account the variation in the strain-free d-spacing across the weld region. It was found that, in the heat-affected zone (HAZ) slightly away from the weld line, residual stress fields showed tensile stresses increasing most dramatically in the hoop direction toward the weld line. Closer to the weld line, in the plastically affected zone, a sharp drop in the residual stresses was observed on both sides, although more dramatically in the S/CMV. In addition to residual stress mapping, synchrotron XRD measurements were carried out to map microstructural changes in thin slices cut from the welds. By studying the diffraction peak asymmetry of the 200-α diffraction peak, it was possible to demonstrate that a martensitic phase transformation in the S/CMV is responsible for the significant stress reduction close to the weld line. The postweld heat treatment (PWHT) chosen to avoid any overaging of the Aermet 100 and to temper the S/CMV martensite resulted in little stress relief on the S/CMV side of the weld