Multi-scale approach for the analysis of the stress fields at a contact edge in fretting fatigue conditions with a crack analogue approach

This paper describes a novel method to model the stress gradient effect in fretting-fatigue. The analysis of the mechanical fields in the proximity of the contact edges allows to extract nonlocal intensity factors that take into account the stress gradient evolution. For this purpose, the kinetic field around the contact ends is partitioned into a summation of multiple terms, each one expressed as the product between nonlocal intensity factors, Is, Ia, Ic, depending on the macroscopic loads applied to the mechanical assembly, and spatial reference fields, ds, da, dc, depending on the local geometry of the part. This description is obtained through nonintrusive post-processing of FE computation and is conceived in order to be easily implementable in the industrial context.By using as input the macroscopic load, the procedure consists in computing a set of nonlocal stress intensityfactors, which are an index of the severity of the stress field in the proximity of the contact edges.This description has two main advantages. First, the nonlocal stress intensity factors are independent from thegeometry used. Secondly, the procedure is easily applicable to industrial scale FE model.&nbsp

Essai d'analyse des relations génétiques entre les races bovines françaises à l'aide du polymorphisme biochimique

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Equivalent configurations for notch and fretting fatigue

Under the typical partial slip conditions under which fretting fatigue takes place, the amount of superficial damage is small. Therefore, the substantial reduction in fatigue life caused by fretting, when compared to plain fatigue, may well be more associated with the stress concentration and the stress gradient phenomena generated by the contact problem than to the superficial loss of material. In this setting, notch stress-based methodologies could, in principle, be applied to fretting in the medium/high cycle fatigue regime. The aim of this work was to investigate whether it is possible to design fretting and notch fatigue configurations, which are nominally identical in terms of damage measured by a multiaxial fatigue model. The methodology adopted to carry out this search considered a cylindrical on flat contact and a V-notch. Load and geometry dimensions of both configurations were adjusted in order to try to obtain the “same” decay of the Multiaxial Fatigue Index from the hot spot up to a critical distance. Positive results of such simulations can lead us to design an experimental program that can bring more firm conclusions on the use of pure stress-based approaches, which do not include the wear damage, in the modeling of fretting fatigue

Cluster structures on quantum coordinate rings

We show that the quantum coordinate ring of the unipotent subgroup N(w) of a symmetric Kac-Moody group G associated with a Weyl group element w has the structure of a quantum cluster algebra. This quantum cluster structure arises naturally from a subcategory C_w of the module category of the corresponding preprojective algebra. An important ingredient of the proof is a system of quantum determinantal identities which can be viewed as a q-analogue of a T-system. In case G is a simple algebraic group of type A, D, E, we deduce from these results that the quantum coordinate ring of an open cell of a partial flag variety attached to G also has a cluster structure.Comment: v2: minor corrections. v3: references updated, final version to appear in Selecta Mathematic

Kinematic behavior of southern Alaska constrained by westward decreasing postglacial slip rates on the Denali Fault, Alaska

Long-term slip rates for the Denali Fault in southern Alaska are derived using ^(10)Be cosmogenic radionuclide (CRN) dating of offset glacial moraines at two sites. Correction of ^(10)Be CRN model ages for the effect of snow shielding uses historical, regional snow cover data scaled to the site altitudes. To integrate the time variation of snow cover, we included the relative changes in effective wetness over the last 11 ka, derived from lake-level records and δ^(18)O variations from Alaskan lakes. The moraine CRN model ages are normally distributed around an average of 12.1 ± 1.0 ka (n = 22, ± 1σ). The slip rate decreases westward from ~13 mm/a at 144°49′W to about 7 mm/a at 149°26′W. The data are consistent with a kinematic model in which southern Alaska translates northwestward at a rate of ~14 mm/a relative to a stable northern Alaska with no rotation. This suggests progressive slip partitioning between the Denali Fault and the active fold and thrust belt at the northern front of the Alaska range, with convergence rates increasing westward from ~4 mm/a to 11 mm/a between ~149°W and 145°W. As the two moraines sampled for this study were emplaced synchronously, our suggestion of a westward decrease in the slip rate of the Denali Fault relies largely upon the measured offsets at both sites, regardless of any potential systematic uncertainty in the CRN model ages

The SIGMA rat brain templates and atlases for multimodal MRI data analysis and visualization

Preclinical imaging studies offer a unique access to the rat brain, allowing investigations that go beyond what is possible in human studies. Unfortunately, these techniques still suffer from a lack of dedicated and standardized neuroimaging tools, namely brain templates and descriptive atlases. Here, we present two rat brain MRI templates and their associated gray matter, white matter and cerebrospinal fluid probability maps, generated from ex vivo [Formula: see text]-weighted images (90 µm isotropic resolution) and in vivo T2-weighted images (150 µm isotropic resolution). In association with these templates, we also provide both anatomical and functional 3D brain atlases, respectively derived from the merging of the Waxholm and Tohoku atlases, and analysis of resting-state functional MRI data. Finally, we propose a complete set of preclinical MRI reference resources, compatible with common neuroimaging software, for the investigation of rat brain structures and functions.This work is part of the SIGMA project with the reference FCT-ANR/NEU-OSD/0258/2012, co-financed by the French public funding agency ANR (Agence Nationale pour laRecherche, APP Blanc International II 2012), the Portuguese FCT (Fundação para aCiência e Tecnologia) and the Portuguese North Regional Operational Program (ON.2—O Novo Norte) under the National Strategic Reference Framework (QREN), through theEuropean Regional Development Fund (FEDER) as well as the Projecto Estratégico co-funded by FCT (PEst-C/SAU/LA0026-/2013) and the European Regional DevelopmentFund COMPETE (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-037298). D.A.B. and A.N. were funded bygrants from FCT-ANR/NEU-OSD/0258/2012. R.M. was supported by the FCT fellow-ship grant with the reference PDE/BDE/113604/2015 from the PhDiHES program. A.C.was supported by a grant from the foundation NRJ. P.M. was funded by FundaçãoCalouste Gulbenkian (Portugal;‘Better mental health during ageing based on temporalprediction of individual brain ageing trajectories TEMPO’) with Grant Number P-139977. France Life Imaging is acknowledged for its support in funding the NeuroSpinplatform of preclinical MRI scanners. The authors also acknowledge and thank EdwardGanz, MD, for proof reading our work

Effects of recent minimum temperature and water deficit increases on Pinus pinaster radial growth and wood density in southern Portugal

Western Iberia has recently shown increasing frequency of drought conditions coupled with heatwave events, leading to exacerbated limiting climatic conditions for plant growth. It is not clear to what extent wood growth and density of agroforestry species have suffered from such changes or recent extreme climate events. To address this question, tree-ring width and density chronologies were built for a Pinus pinaster stand in southern Portugal and correlated with climate variables, including the minimum, mean and maximum temperatures and the number of cold days. Monthly and maximum daily precipitations were also analyzed as well as dry spells. The drought effect was assessed using the standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration (SPEI) multi-scalar drought index, between 1 to 24-months. The climate-growth/density relationships were evaluated for the period 1958-2011. We show that both wood radial growth and density highly benefit from the strong decay of cold days and the increase of minimum temperature. Yet the benefits are hindered by long-term water deficit, which results in different levels of impact on wood radial growth and density. Despite of the intensification of long-term water deficit, tree-ring width appears to benefit from the minimum temperature increase, whereas the effects of long-term droughts significantly prevail on tree-ring density. Our results further highlight the dependency of the species on deep water sources after the juvenile stage. The impact of climate changes on longterm droughts and their repercussion on the shallow groundwater table and P. pinaster’s vulnerability are also discussed. This work provides relevant information for forest management in the semi-arid area of the Alentejo region of Portugal. It should ease the elaboration of mitigation strategies to assure P. pinaster’s production capacity and quality in response to more arid conditions in the near future in the regioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Adverse Life Trajectories Are a Risk Factor for SARS-CoV-2 IgA Seropositivity.

Asymptomatic individuals, called "silent spreaders" spread SARS-CoV-2 efficiently and have complicated control of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As seen in previous influenza pandemics, socioeconomic and life-trajectory factors are important in disease progression and outcome. The demographics of the asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 carriers are unknown. We used the CON-VINCE cohort of healthy, asymptomatic, and oligosymptomatic individuals that is statistically representative of the overall population of Luxembourg for age, gender, and residency to characterise this population. Gender (male), not smoking, and exposure to early-life or adult traumatic experiences increased the risk of IgA seropositivity, and the risk associated with early-life exposure was a dose-dependent metric, while some other known comorbidities of active COVID-19 do not impact it. As prior exposure to adversity is associated with negative psychobiological reactions to external stressors, we recorded psychological wellbeing during the study period. Exposure to traumatic events or concurrent autoimmune or rheumatic disease were associated with a worse evolution of anxiety and depressive symptoms throughout the lockdown period. The unique demographic profile of the "silent spreaders" highlights the role that the early-life period plays in determining our lifelong health trajectory and provides evidence that the developmental origins of health and disease is applicable to infectious diseases

Genetic diversity of a large set of horse breeds raised in France assessed by microsatellite polymorphism

After the recent publication of our article (Leroy, Genetics Selection Evolution 2009 41:5), we found several errors in the published Table Three, concerning the computation of contribution to within-breed diversity (CW). We apologize to the readers for these errors, which are corrected in the present erratum