Mechanical Behavior of Mushy Zone in DC casting using a Viscoplastic Material Model

Direct Chill (DC) casting is a semi-continuous metal manufacturing process for producing non-ferrous alloys such as aluminum and magnesium. During the solidification of the alloy, there exists a semi-solid state of material known as mushy zone which is more prone to hot tearing. Precise modeling of hot tearing is the most challenging task due to the interaction of many physical fields. The deformation of the partially coherent solid strongly influences the hot cracking. This work focuses on the material behavior of the mushy zone which is the prerequisite for the development of hot tearing criteria. The rate-dependent nature plays a crucial role at higher temperatures. Therefore, the viscoplastic material models with temperature-dependent coefficients are implemented for the characterization of the mushy zone. The numerical integration of the constitute equations are explained in detail. The liquid flow is neglected, and the momentum and energy equations are solved for the mushy and solid phases. With the help of a viscoplastic material models, the stress and strain evolution in the mushy zone is captured. It is found that the state of stress in mushy region is tensile in nature which is a favorable situation for the hot cracks. The influence of the casting speed and secondary cooling on the mushy stress state are analyzed in detail

9-Aminoacridin-10-ium 4-aminobenzoate dihydrate

The asymmetric unit of the title hydrated salt, C13H11N2 +.-C7H6NO2-.2H2O, consists of two independent 9-aminoacridinium cations, two 4-aminobenzoate anions and four water molecules. Both 9-aminoacridinium cations are essentially planar, with maximum deviations of 0.034 (1) and 0.025 (2) A ° , and are protonated at the pyridine N atoms. The 4-aminobenzoate anions are approximately planar, with dihedral angles of 9.16 (19) and 5.4 (2)° between the benzene ring and the carboxylate group. In the crystal, the two independent anions are connected by N—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming a layer parallel to (100). The layers are connected through the cations by N—H...N and N—H...O hydrogen bonds. The water molecules, which form O—H...O hydrogen-bonded chains along the b-axis direction, connect the anions and the cations by O—H...O, N—H...O and C— H...O hydrogen bonds. The crystal structure also features n–n interactions [centroid–centroid distances = 3.6343 (9)– 3.8366 (10) A °] and a C—H...n interaction

Foliar fungal disease-resistant introgression lines of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) record higher pod and haulm yield in multilocation testing

Introgression lines (ILs) of groundnut with enhanced resistance to rust and late leaf spot (LLS) recorded increased pod and haulm yield in multilocation testing. Marker-assisted backcrossing (MABC) approach was used to introgress a genomic region containing a major QTL that explains >80% of phenotypic variance (PV) for rust resistance and 67.98% PV for LLS resistance. ILs in the genetic background of TAG 24, ICGV 91114 and JL 24 were evaluated for two seasons to select 20 best ILs based on resistance, productivity parameters and maturity duration. Multilocation evaluation of the selected ILs was conducted in three locations including disease hot spots. Background genotype, environment and genotype × environment interactions are important for expression of resistance governed by the QTL region. Six best ILs namely ICGV 13192, ICGV 13193, ICGV 13200, ICGV 13206, ICGV 13228 and ICGV 13229 were selected with 39–79% higher mean pod yield and 25–89% higher mean haulm yield over their respective recurrent parents. Pod yield increase was contributed by increase in seed mass and number of pods per plant

Duration of androgen deprivation therapy with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of long-course versus short-course androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised trial

Background Previous evidence supports androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with primary radiotherapy as initial treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the use and optimal duration of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy remains uncertain. Methods RADICALS-HD was a randomised controlled trial of ADT duration within the RADICALS protocol. Here, we report on the comparison of short-course versus long-course ADT. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after previous radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to add 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT) or 24 months of ADT (long-course ADT) to radiotherapy, using subcutaneous gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (monthly in the short-course ADT group and 3-monthly in the long-course ADT group), daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. The comparison had more than 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 75% to 81% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72). Standard time-to-event analyses were used. Analyses followed intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT00541047 . Findings Between Jan 30, 2008, and July 7, 2015, 1523 patients (median age 65 years, IQR 60–69) were randomly assigned to receive short-course ADT (n=761) or long-course ADT (n=762) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 138 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 8·9 years (7·0–10·0), 313 metastasis-free survival events were reported overall (174 in the short-course ADT group and 139 in the long-course ADT group; HR 0·773 [95% CI 0·612–0·975]; p=0·029). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 71·9% (95% CI 67·6–75·7) in the short-course ADT group and 78·1% (74·2–81·5) in the long-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 105 (14%) of 753 participants in the short-course ADT group and 142 (19%) of 757 participants in the long-course ADT group (p=0·025), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Compared with adding 6 months of ADT, adding 24 months of ADT improved metastasis-free survival in people receiving postoperative radiotherapy. For individuals who can accept the additional duration of adverse effects, long-course ADT should be offered with postoperative radiotherapy. Funding Cancer Research UK, UK Research and Innovation (formerly Medical Research Council), and Canadian Cancer Society