Optimisation of material properties for the modelling of large deformation manufacturing processes using a finite element model of the Gleeble compression test

The finite element modelling of manufacturing processes often requires a large amount of large plastic strain flow stress data in order to represent the material of interest over a wide range of temperatures and strain rates. Compression data generated using a Gleeble thermo-mechanical simulator is difficult to interpret due to the complex temperature and strain fields, which exist within the specimen during the test. In this study, a non-linear optimisation process is presented, which includes a finite element model of the compression process to accurately determine the constants of a five-parameter Norton–Hoff material model. The optimisation process is first verified using a reduced three-parameter model and then the full five-parameter model using a known set of constants to produce the target data, from which the errors are assessed. Following this, the optimisation is performed using experimental target data starting from a set of constants derived from the test data using an initial least-squares fit and also an arbitrary starting point within the parameter space. The results of these tests yield coefficients differing by a maximum of less than 10% and significantly improve the representation of the flow stress of the material

Hepatitis E virus mixed infection in immunocompetent patient

We detected 2 hepatitis E virus (HEV) strains in an acutely infected immunocompetent patient. Two populations of genotype 3 virus were observed in the hypervariable regions and open reading frames 2 and 3, indicating multiple infection with hepatitis E virus. Persons with mixed infections may provide the opportunity for virus recombination

The STAR Silicon Strip Detector (SSD)

The STAR Silicon Strip Detector (SSD) completes the three layers of the Silicon Vertex Tracker (SVT) to make an inner tracking system located inside the Time Projection Chamber (TPC). This additional fourth layer provides two dimensional hit position and energy loss measurements for charged particles, improving the extrapolation of TPC tracks through SVT hits. To match the high multiplicity of central Au+Au collisions at RHIC the double sided silicon strip technology was chosen which makes the SSD a half million channels detector. Dedicated electronics have been designed for both readout and control. Also a novel technique of bonding, the Tape Automated Bonding (TAB), was used to fullfill the large number of bounds to be done. All aspects of the SSD are shortly described here and test performances of produced detection modules as well as simulated results on hit reconstruction are given.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, 1 tabl

Long-Term Impact of Cyclosporin Reduction with MMF Treatment in Chronic Allograft Dysfunction: REFERENECE Study 3-Year Follow Up

Calcineurin inhibitor (CNI) toxicity contributes to chronic allograft nephropathy (CAN). In the 2-year, randomized, study, we showed that 50% cyclosporin (CsA) reduction in combination with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) treatment improves kidney function without increasing the risk for graft rejection/loss. To investigate the long-term effect of this regimen, we conducted a follow up study in 70 kidney transplant patients until 5 years after REFERENCE initiation. The improvement of kidney function was confirmed in the MMF group but not in the control group (CsA group). Four graft losses occurred, 2 in each group (graft survival in the MMF group 95.8% and 90.9% in control group). One death occurred in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference in the occurrence of serious adverse events or acute graft rejections. A limitation is the weak proportion of patient still remaining within the control group. On the other hand, REFERENCE focuses on the CsA regimen while opinions about the tacrolimus ones are still debated. In conclusion, CsA reduction in the presence of MMF treatment seems to maintain kidney function and is well tolerated in the long term

Meningitis due to Fusobacterium necrophorum in an adult

BACKGROUND: Fusobacterium necrophorum may cause a number of clinical syndromes, collectively known as necrobacillosis. Meningitis is a significant cause of mortality, rarely reported in the adult population. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a fatal case of meningitis, caused by Fusobacterium necrophorum, secondary to otitis media in an alcoholic male. Diagnosis was delayed due to the typical slow growth of the organism. The clinical course was complicated by encephalitis and by hydrocephalus. The patient failed to respond to metronidazole and penicillin. The patient died on day 12 from increased intracranial pressure and brain stem infarction. CONCLUSIONS: This case emphasizes the need for a high index of clinical suspicion to make the diagnosis of Fusobacterium necrophorum meningitis. We recommend the use of appropriate anaerobic culture techniques and antimicrobial coverage for anaerobic organisms when the gram stain shows gram negative bacilli

Genetic variability and the classification of hepatitis E virus

The classification of hepatitis E virus (HEV) variants is currently in transition without agreed definitions for genotypes and subtypes or for deeper taxonomic groupings into species and genera that could incorporate more recently characterized viruses assigned to the Hepeviridae family that infect birds, bats, rodents, and fish. These conflicts arise because of differences in the viruses and genomic regions compared and in the methodology used. We have reexamined published sequences and found that synonymous substitutions were saturated in comparisons between and within virus genotypes. Analysis of complete genome sequences or concatenated ORF1/ORF2 amino acid sequences indicated that HEV variants most closely related to those infecting humans can be consistently divided into six genotypes (types 1 to 4 and two additional genotypes from wild boar). Variants isolated from rabbits, closely related to genotype 3, occupy an intermediate position. No consistent criteria could be defined for the assignment of virus subtypes. Analysis of amino acid sequences from these viruses with the more divergent variants from chickens, bats, and rodents in three conserved subgenomic regions (residues 1 to 452 or 974 to 1534 of ORF1 or residues 105 to 458 of ORF2) provided consistent support for a division into 4 groups, corresponding to HEV variants infecting humans and pigs, those infecting rats and ferrets, those from bats, and those from chickens. This approach may form the basis for a future genetic classification of HEV into four species, with the more divergent HEV-like virus from fish (cutthroat trout virus) representing a second genus

Connecting consumers with local produce: Insights for a local food provisioning app.

Food supply chain resilience has been challenged in recent times due to climatic, political and health (pandemic) factors. Food transportation contributes 26% of carbon emissions globally.1 Within Europe food is transported an average of 171km from farm to fork2. EU citizens waste over 58 million tonnes of food annually3 at an estimated cost of €132bn4. To address such issues, greater resilience must be built into future supply systems to reduce food waste, support the next generation of food producers with a fair income, and ensure food security for all European citizens. Utilising short food supply chains (SFSC) where ‘local’ food is sold through a limited number of intermediaries, with independent price setting for producers, and full production information available for consumers, may address these challenges. Given perceived proximity can increase the positive perception of mobile apps5, such a development could enable a SFSC that allows for dynamic food supply in local areas. This study seeks to understand consumers’ drivers and barriers in local food provisioning, and more specifically the potential for digital provisioning solutions (e.g. apps). Five focus groups were conducted across five countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Spain, UK) with a total of 35 participants. Provisioning of local and/or non-local food, and the use/non-use of digital tools were explored. A semi-inductive, thematical approach was taken for the analysis, inspired by grounded theory.6 Findings covered three key areas: 1) definitions of local food, 2) drivers and barriers to local food provisioning, and 3) drivers and barriers in food provisioning with digital tools. Firstly, exploring consumers depictions of local food led to a heterogeneous and multifactorial definition of ‘local food’. Key criteria discussed were origin, distance, type of products, number of intermediaries, packaging, type of transport, seasonality, and the context of purchase. Secondly, drivers of local food provisioning were found to be better quality (taste, freshness, healthiness), less waste/food waste, seasonality, and a reduction in the associated carbon footprint (although this was mentioned less than other drivers). Barriers to local food provisioning came in the form of expense as local food was considered more highly priced than alternatives, (although some saw this as a sacrifice to be made), lack of information (at times causing distrust) in the origin and length of the supply chain meaning consumers could not be certain it was ‘local’, and a lack of diversity. Thirdly, drivers of utilising digital tools for food provisioning were established as convenience (gaining of time, a simplified daily/weekly schedule, physical ease), along with a reduction on one’s mental load (through easily finding recipes, etc.), and finally financial drivers with consumers stating they had more control over expenses with a digital tool. Barriers to food provisioning using digital tools, were stated as a lack of variety in both products and recipes, waste associated with packaging, the proximity of other offers (such as those found in stores), and a loss of benefits such as interaction and physical presence (touch/smell, sociability) found with in-person food provisioning. This research establishes that whilst consumers may perceive some barriers to using digital tools in food provisioning, there is still potential for their use in SFSC. Future research will look to explore these results further through a larger quantitative consumer study

Monte Carlo Simulations of HIV Capsid Protein Homodimer

Capsid protein (CA) is the building block of virus coats. To help understand how the HIV CA proteins self-organize into large assemblies of various shapes, we aim to computationally evaluate the binding affinity and interfaces in a CA homodimer. We model the N- and C-terminal domains (NTD and CTD) of the CA as rigid bodies and treat the five-residue loop between the two domains as a flexible linker. We adopt a transferrable residue-level coarse-grained energy function to describe the interactions between the protein domains. In seven extensive Monte Carlo simulations with different volumes, a large number of binding/unbinding transitions between the two CA proteins are observed, thus allowing a reliable estimation of the equilibrium probabilities for the dimeric vs monomeric forms. The obtained dissociation constant for the CA homodimer from our simulations, 20–25 μM, is in reasonable agreement with experimental measurement. A wide range of binding interfaces, primarily between the NTDs, are identified in the simulations. Although some observed bound structures here closely resemble the major binding interfaces in the capsid assembly, they are statistically insignificant in our simulation trajectories. Our results suggest that although the general purpose energy functions adopted here could reasonably reproduce the overall binding affinity for the CA homodimer, further adjustment would be needed to accurately represent the relative strength of individual binding interfaces

Practical diagnosis of cirrhosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease using currently available non-invasive fibrosis tests

Unlike for advanced liver fibrosis, the practical rules for the early non-invasive diagnosis of cirrhosis in NAFLD remain not well defined. Here, we report the derivation and validation of a stepwise diagnostic algorithm in 1568 patients with NAFLD and liver biopsy coming from four independent cohorts. The study algorithm, using first the elastography-based tests Agile3+ and Agile4 and then the specialized blood tests FibroMeterV3G and CirrhoMeterV3G, provides stratification in four groups, the last of which is enriched in cirrhosis (71% prevalence in the validation set). A risk prediction chart is also derived to allow estimation of the individual probability of cirrhosis. The predicted risk shows excellent calibration in the validation set, and mean difference with perfect prediction is only −2.9%. These tools improve the personalized non-invasive diagnosis of cirrhosis in NAFLD