A finite-strain model for incomplete damage in elastoplastic materials

We address a three-dimensional model capable of describing coupled damage and plastic effects in solids at finite strains. Formulated within the variational setting of {\it generalized standard materials}, the constitutive model results from the balance of conservative and dissipative forces. Material response is rate-independent and associative and damage evolution is unidirectional. We assess the model features and performance on both uniaxial and non-proportional biaxial tests. The constitutive model is then complemented with the quasistatic equilibrium system and initial and boundary conditions. We produce numerical simulations with the help of the powerful multiphysics finite element software NETGEN/NGSolve. We show the flexibility of the implementation and run simulations for various 2D and 3D settings under different choices of boundary conditions and possibly in presence of pre-damaged regions

First-order reliability method for estimating reliability, vulnerability, and resilience

Reliability, vulnerability, and resilience provide measures of the frequency, magnitude, and duration of the failure of water resources systems, respectively. Traditionally, these measures have been estimated using simulation. However, this can be computationally intensive, particularly when complex system-response models are used, when many estimates of the performance measures are required, and when persistence among the data needs to be taken into account. In this paper, an efficient method for estimating reliability, vulnerability, and resilience, which is based on the First-Order Reliability Method (FORM), is developed and demonstrated for the case study of managing water quality in the Willamette River, Oregon. Reliability, vulnerability, and resilience are determined for different dissolved oxygen (DO) standards. DO is simulated using a QUAL2EU water quality response model that has recently been developed for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) as part of the Willamette River Basin Water Quality Study (WRBWQS). The results obtained indicate that FORM can be used to efficiently estimate reliability, vulnerability, and resilience.Holger R. Maier, Barbara J. Lence, Bryan A. Tolson, and Ricardo O. Fosch

Body Image Dissatisfaction: Responses Between Male and Female Exercisers and Non-Exercisers

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(3): 249-257, 2016.Body image dissatisfaction (BID) is defined as the difference between actual and desired image. Body image or BID is subject to high levels of societal pressure and discrepancies are frequent between actual and desired image. This study examined BID among male exercisers (ME), female exercisers (FE), male non-exercisers (MNE) and female non-exercisers (FNE). Further, the potential relationship of personal BID on individual’s beliefs regarding what their peers’ perceptions would be was examined. College-aged men (n = 169) and women (n = 246) used the Stunkard scale to self-assess body image. Participants labeled a) which silhouette they felt accurately represents their body, b) which silhouette they would like to be, c) which silhouette reflects other women’s perception of them and d) which silhouette reflects other men’s perception of them. ANOVA detected a significant difference among groups. Follow up tests revealed less dissatisfaction (score closer to zero) (p \u3c 0.05) for ME (-0.09 + 1.15) than MNE (0.61 + 1.36), FE (0.87 + 0.92) and FNE (1.13 + 1.09) and, less BID for MNE vs. FNE. Specific correlations for anticipated perceptions of male and female peers ranged from 0.05 to 0.27. Current results confirm ME desires to be larger (i.e. muscular) while MNE and females regardless of exercise status desire to be smaller. Although limited by a narrow range of dissatisfaction score, the current study suggests personal body image perceptions are not meaningfully related to what individuals anticipate their peers will think of them

Incorporation of uncertainties in real-time catchment flood forecasting

Floods have become the most prevalent and costly natural hazards in the U.S. When preparing real-time flood forecasts for a catchment flood warning and preparedness system, consideration must be given to four sources of uncertainty -- natural, data, model parameters, and model structure. A general procedure has been developed for applying reliability analysis to evaluate the effects of the various sources of uncertainty on hydrologic models used for forecasting and prediction of catchment floods. Three reliability analysis methods -- Monte Carlo simulation, mean value and advanced first-order second moment analyses (MVFOSM and AFOSM, respectively) - - were applied to the rainfall -runoff modeling reliability problem. Comparison of these methods indicates that the AFOSM method is probably best suited to the rainfall-runoff modeling reliability problem with the MVFOSM showing some promise. The feasibility and utility of the reliability analysis procedure are shown for a case study employing as an example the HEC-1 and RORB rainfall-runoff watershed models to forecast flood events on the Vermilion River watershed at Pontiac, Illinois. The utility of the reliability analysis approach is demonstrated for four important hydrologic problems: 1) determination of forecast (or prediction) reliability, 2) determination of the flood level exceedance probability due to a current storm and development of "rules of thumb" for flood warning decision making considering this probabilistic information, 3) determination of the key sources of uncertainty influencing model forecast reliability, 4) selection of hydrologic models based on comparison of model forecast reliability. Central to this demonstration is the reliability analysis methods' ability to estimate the exceedance probability for any hydrologic target level of interest and, hence, to produce forecast cumulative density functions and probability distribution functions. For typical hydrologic modeling cases, reduction of the underlying modeling uncertainties is the key to obtaining useful, reliable forecasts. Furthermore, determination of the rainfall excess is the primary source of uncertainty, especially in the estimation of the temporal and areal rainfall distributions.U.S. Department of the InteriorU.S. Geological SurveyOpe

DNA copy number changes define spatial patterns of heterogeneity in colorectal cancer

Genetic heterogeneity between and within tumours is a major factor determining cancer progression and therapy response. Here we examined DNA sequence and DNA copy-number heterogeneity in colorectal cancer (CRC) by targeted high-depth sequencing of 100 most frequently altered genes. In 97 samples, with primary tumours and matched metastases from 27 patients, we observe inter-tumour concordance for coding mutations; in contrast, gene copy numbers are highly discordant between primary tumours and metastases as validated by fluorescent in situ hybridization. To further investigate intra-tumour heterogeneity, we dissected a single tumour into 68 spatially defined samples and sequenced them separately. We identify evenly distributed coding mutations in APC and TP53 in all tumour areas, yet highly variable gene copy numbers in numerous genes. 3D morpho-molecular reconstruction reveals two clusters with divergent copy number aberrations along the proximal–distal axis indicating that DNA copy number variations are a major source of tumour heterogeneity in CRC

Exploring Parent-Adolescent Conflict: An Examination of Correlates and Longitudinal Predictors in Early Adolescence

Previous research has focused on developmental trends in parent-adolescent conflict without extensively describing individual differences in conflict. The current study tested child factors, parent factors, contextual factors, and adolescence-specific factors as concurrent correlates and longitudinal predictors of parent-adolescent conflict. Participants include 218 mother-child dyads, adolescents’ mean age (11years, 11months). Parent and adolescent data was collected during the summers following the adolescents’ 5th and 6th grade years. All four groups of variables were associated with parent-adolescent conflict. The child group of factors emerged as the most consistent group of variables concurrently and longitudinally

Systematic Differences in the Source Properties of the Third Gravitational-Wave Catalog

[No abstract available

Advanced crack tip field characterization using conjugate work integrals

The quantitative characterisation of crack tip loads is fundamental in fracture mechanics. Although the potential influence of higher order terms on crack growth and stability is known, classical studies solely rely on first order stress intensity factors. We calculate higher order Williams coefficients using an integral technique based on conjugate work integrals and study the convergence with increasing crack tip distance. We compare the integral method to the state-of-the-art fitting method and provide results for higher-order terms with several crack lengths, external forces, and sizes for widely used middle tension, single-edge cracked tension, and compact tension specimen under mode-I loading

Measurement of infection efficiency of a major wheat pathogen using time-resolved imaging of disease progress

Infection efficiency is a key epidemiological parameter that determines the proportion of pathogen spores able to infect and cause lesions once they have landed on a susceptible plant tissue. In this study, an improved method to measure infection efficiency of Zymoseptoria tritici using a replicated greenhouse experiment is presented. Zymoseptoria tritici is a fungal pathogen that infects wheat leaves and causes septoria tritici blotch (STB), a major disease of wheat worldwide. A novel experimental setup was devised, where living wheat leaves were attached to metal plates, allowing for time‐resolved imaging of disease progress in planta. Because lesions were continuously appearing, expanding and merging during the period of up to 3 weeks, daily measurements were necessary for accurate counting of lesions. Reference membranes were also used to characterize the density and spatial distribution of spores inoculated onto leaf surfaces. In this way, the relationship between the number of lesions and the number of viable spores deposited on the leaves was captured and an infection efficiency of about 4% was estimated from the slope of this relationship. This study provides a proof of principle for accurate and reliable measurement of infection efficiency of Z. tritici. The method opens opportunities for determining the genetic basis of the component of quantitative resistance that suppresses infection efficiency. This knowledge would improve breeding for quantitative resistance against STB, a control measure considered more durable than deployment of major resistance genes