Guided Interface Waves

Many of tomorrow’s technologies are dependent upon the emergence of new advanced materials with superior stiffness and strength but reduced density. Metal matrix composites (MMC’s) consisting of light metal matrices (e. g., aluminum, titanium or magnesium) reinforced with very stiff ceramic fibers or particles (e. g. SiC, AI2O3 or graphite) show considerable promise for satisfying this need. However, the satisfactory performance of these materials has been found to be critically dependent upon the attainment of optimal properties at the metal-ceramic interface; a problem that is compounded by the possibility of chemical reactions between the reactive metal matrix and ceramic reinforcement. Of particular import are the interface adhesion and local elastic properties. Unfortunately no methods exist for the measurement of these quantities even for macroscopic interfaces let alone for the microscopic interfaces occurring within MMC’s

Supporting Young People With Psychosis In The Community: An ICT Enabled Relapse Prevention Tool

Psychotic disorders are the most disabling of all mental illnesses and place a heavy demand on limited mental health services. Consequently, this research aims to develop novel approaches to care which are less demanding of public resources. This research-in-progress is based in an innovative youth mental health service in Australia. It presents a model for a web-based platform which provides support for relapse prevention in young people with first-episode psychosis (FEP). This study combines Information Systems and Psychology theory and research to develop an advanced web-based interactive psychosocial intervention for relapse prevention and recovery in FEP. While web-based applications to support schizophrenia, depression and anxiety have been researched such approaches have not been applied to the problem of relapse prevention in young people with FEP. The research uses focus groups to study case managers, clients of the support organisation and usability experts to inform an initial prototype which has then been presented to a group of clients for evaluation. It concludes that an intervention based on intelligent technologies which combine social networking and web-based treatment to promote independent home based care would best suit the characteristics of the target group and should be tested in large-scale in the community

Response of Metallic Pyramidal Lattice Core Sandwich Panels to High Intensity Impulsive Loading in Air

Small scale explosive loading of sandwich panels with low relative density pyramidal lattice cores has been used to study the large scale bending and fracture response of a model sandwich panel system in which the core has little stretch resistance. The panels were made from a ductile stainless steel and the practical consequence of reducing the sandwich panel face sheet thickness to induce a recently predicted beneficial fluid–structure interaction (FSI) effect was investigated. The panel responses are compared to those of monolithic solid plates of equivalent areal density. The impulse imparted to the panels was varied from 1.5 to 7.6 kPa s by changing the standoff distance between the center of a spherical explosive charge and the front face of the panels. A decoupled finite element model has been used to computationally investigate the dynamic response of the panels. It predicts panel deformations well and is used to identify the deformation time sequence and the face sheet and core failure mechanisms. The study shows that efforts to use thin face sheets to exploit FSI benefits are constrained by dynamic fracture of the front face and that this failure mode is in part a consequence of the high strength of the inertially stabilized trusses. Even though the pyramidal lattice core offers little in-plane stretch resistance, and the FSI effect is negligible during loading by air, the sandwich panels are found to suffer slightly smaller back face deflections and transmit smaller vertical component forces to the supports compared to equivalent monolithic plates.Engineering and Applied Science

Intensive exercise does not preferentially mobilise skin-homing T cells and NK cells

Purpose: This study investigated whether natural killer (NK) cells and CD8+ T cells expressing cutaneous lymphocyte antigen (CLA) – a homing molecule for endothelial cell leukocyte adhesion molecule 1 (ELAM-1), which enables transmigration to the skin – are selectively mobilised in response to acute exercise. Methods: Nine healthy males (mean ± SD age: 22.1 ± 3.4 years) completed two exercise sessions: high-intensity continuous cycling (‘continuous exercise’ at 80% MAX for 20 min) and low-volume high-intensity interval exercise (‘HIIE’ at 90% MAX 10 × 1 min repetitions with 1 min recovery intervals). Blood was collected before, immediately- and 30 min post-exercise for cryo-preservation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. CLA+ and CLA− cells were quantified within NK subpopulations (CD56bright ‘regulatory’ and CD56dim ‘cytotoxic’ cells) as well as the following CD8+ T cell subpopulations: naive (‘NA’; CD45RA+CCR7+), central memory (‘CM’; CD45RA−CCR7+), effector-memory (‘EM’; CD45RA−CCR7−) and CD45RA-expressing effector-memory cells (‘EMRA’; CD45RA+CCR7−). Results: CLA+ NK cells and CD8+ memory T cells increased in response to both exercise bouts, but, overall, their numerical contribution to the exercise lymphocytosis was inferior to CLA− cells, which increased to a much greater extent during exercise. Tellingly, the most exercise-responsive cells – effector memory CD8+ cells and CD56dim cells – were CLA−. Conclusions: A small subset of CLA+ lymphocytes are mobilised into blood during acute intensive exercise, but CLA+ cells are not major contributors to exercise lymphocytosis, thus providing preliminary evidence that the skin is not a major origin, or homing-destination, of exercise-sensitive lymphocytes

Exercise Selectively Mobilises Skin-Homing Effector CD8+ T Cells and Natural Killer Cells into Peripheral Blood.

Introduction: Acute exercise induces a transient mobilisation of lymphocyes into peripheral blood that is largely comprised of CD8+ T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. The magnitude of this response is dependent on the differentiation status of these lymphocyte subsets, thus cells with a capacity to initiate rapid effector function (i.e., cytokine secretion and target killing) exhibit the largest changes in response to exercise. It is hypothesised that the effector cells preferentially mobilised into the bloodstream have high tissue-migrating potential, however, the origin of these cells, and their potential homing destination(s) following exercise has not been established in humans. Accordingly, this study investigated whether CD8+ and NK cell subsets expressing the cutaneous lymphocte antigen (CLA) – a molecule expressed on skin-associated memory lymphocytes (≤ 20% CD8+ T cells and ≤ 50%NK cells) that binds to endothelial cell leukocyte adhesion molecule 1 (ELAM-1) – were selectively mobilised in response to acute exercise. Methods: Ten healthy males (mean ± SD age: 22 ± 3 yrs) completed two different exercise sessions: high-intensity continuous cycling (CC; 85% at HRPeak for 30 mins) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT; 90% of HRpeak 10 x 1 min repetitions with 1 min rest intervals). Blood was taken before, immediately- and 30 min post-exercise for cryo-preservation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. CD8+ subsets were classified into naive (NA; CD45RA+CCR7+), central memory (CM; CD45RA−CCR7+), effector-memory (EM; CD45RA−CCR7−) and CD45RA- expressing effector-memory cells (EMRA; CD45RA+CCR7−). In parallel, CD56bright ‘regulatory’ and CD56dim ‘cytotoxic’ NK subsets were identified using CD56 and CD16. Lymphocyte subpopulations were examined for CLA expression. Results: The number of CLA+CD8+ cells increased in response to both exercise modes. This observation was driven by a preferential mobilisation of effector-memory CLA+CD8+ T cells, as shown by the percentage change in cell number from baseline to exercise: EMRA (CC 244%, HIIT 86%) \u3e EM (CC 142%, HIIT 75%) \u3e CM (CC 104%, HIIT 51%) \u3e naive (CC 82%, HIIT 34%). Within the NK cell pool, CLA+CD56dim cells (CC 520%, HIIT 326%) were mobilised to a greater extent than CLA+CD56bright cells (CC 180%, HIIT 129%). 30-min post-exercise, there was a reduction in the number of CLA+ cells compared to pre-exercise values. Conclusion: This is the first study to demonstrate a selective mobilisation of skin-homing lymphocytes during exercise, suggesting that exercise redistributes effector cells to peripheral tissue, contributing to immune-surveillance

Prediction of iceberg trajectories for the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans

Icebergs are a well-known hazard for shipping. Their study also provides information about diverse geophysical processes, as varied as ocean circulation, air-sea fluxes, calving rates of glaciers or the mass balance of ice sheets. As a first step to obtaining this information from iceberg data we have developed a model of iceberg drift driven by ocean and atmospheric forcing derived from general circulation models. We have applied the drift model to a distribution of typical icebergs released from the main tidewater glaciers of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. We demonstrate that the main driving force of iceberg motion is rooted in the unsteady component of oceanic advection. From simulated trajectories we are able to reproduce the observed southwards limit of iceberg penetration and demonstrate sometimes surprising geographical links between iceberg origin and ultimate melting zones. Copyright 1996 by the American Geophysical Union

Association Between Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Cognitive Function in Older Adults—The Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke Study

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116310/1/jgs13829_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/116310/2/jgs13829.pd

Intensive exercise does not preferentially mobilise skin-homing T cells and NK cells

This paper is closed access.Purpose This study investigated whether natural killer (NK) cells and CD8+ T cells expressing cutaneous lymphocyte antigen (CLA)—a homing molecule for endothelial cell leukocyte adhesion molecule 1, which enables transmigration to the skin—are selectively mobilized in response to acute exercise. Methods Nine healthy men (mean ± SD age: 22.1 ± 3.4 yr) completed two exercise sessions: high-intensity continuous cycling (“continuous exercise” at 80% V˙O2max for 20 min) and low-volume high-intensity interval exercise (at 90% V˙O2max 10 × 1 min repetitions with 1 min recovery intervals). Blood was collected before, immediately and 30 min postexercise for cryopreservation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. CLA+ and CLA− cells were quantified within NK subpopulations (CD56bright “regulatory” and CD56dim “cytotoxic” cells) as well as the following CD8+ T cell subpopulations: naive (“NA”; CD45RA+ CCR7+), central memory (“CM”; CD45RA− CCR7+), effector-memory (“EM”; CD45RA− CCR7−), and CD45RA-expressing effector-memory cells (“EMRA”; CD45RA+ CCR7−). Results CLA+ NK cells and CD8+ memory T cells increased in response to both exercise bouts, but, overall, their numerical contribution to the exercise lymphocytosis was inferior to CLA− cells, which increased to a much greater extent during exercise. Tellingly, the most exercise-responsive cells—effector memory CD8+ cells and CD56dim cells—were CLA−. Conclusions A small subset of CLA+ lymphocytes are mobilized into blood during acute intensive exercise, but CLA+ cells are not major contributors to exercise lymphocytosis, thus providing preliminary evidence that the skin is not a major origin, or homing destination, of exercise-sensitive lymphocytes