Accurate recovery-based error upper bounds for the extended finite element framework

[EN] This paper introduces a recovery-type error estimator yielding upper bounds of the error in energy norm for linear elastic fracture mechanics problems solved using the extended finite element method (XFEM) The paper can be considered as an extension and enhancement of a previous work in which the upper bounds of the error were developed in a FEM framework The upper bound property requires the recovered solution to be equilibrated and continuous The proposed technique consists of using a recovery technique, especially adapted to the XFEM framework that yields equilibrium at a local level (patch by patch) Then a postprocess based on the partition of unity concept is used to obtain continuity The result is a very accurate but only nearly-statically admissible recovered stress field, with small equilibrium defaults introduced by the postprocess Sharp upper bounds are obtained using a new methodology accounting for the equilibrium defaults, as demonstrated by the numerical testsThis work has been carried out within the framework of the research projects DPI2007-66773-C02-01, DPI2007-66995-C03-02 and DPI2007-62395 of the Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia (Spain). The financial support of the Generalitat Valenciana and the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia is also acknowledged.Ródenas, J.; Gonzalez-Estrada, O.; Díez, P.; Fuenmayor Fernández, F. (2010). Accurate recovery-based error upper bounds for the extended finite element framework. Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering. 199(37-40):2607-2621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cma.2010.04.010S2607262119937-4

The Milky Way Bulge: Observed properties and a comparison to external galaxies

The Milky Way bulge offers a unique opportunity to investigate in detail the role that different processes such as dynamical instabilities, hierarchical merging, and dissipational collapse may have played in the history of the Galaxy formation and evolution based on its resolved stellar population properties. Large observation programmes and surveys of the bulge are providing for the first time a look into the global view of the Milky Way bulge that can be compared with the bulges of other galaxies, and be used as a template for detailed comparison with models. The Milky Way has been shown to have a box/peanut (B/P) bulge and recent evidence seems to suggest the presence of an additional spheroidal component. In this review we summarise the global chemical abundances, kinematics and structural properties that allow us to disentangle these multiple components and provide constraints to understand their origin. The investigation of both detailed and global properties of the bulge now provide us with the opportunity to characterise the bulge as observed in models, and to place the mixed component bulge scenario in the general context of external galaxies. When writing this review, we considered the perspectives of researchers working with the Milky Way and researchers working with external galaxies. It is an attempt to approach both communities for a fruitful exchange of ideas.Comment: Review article to appear in "Galactic Bulges", Editors: Laurikainen E., Peletier R., Gadotti D., Springer Publishing. 36 pages, 10 figure

First observations of oblique ionospheric sounding chirp signal in Mexico

The results of the first experiment of oblique ionospheric sounding (OIS) chirp signal reception in Mexico are reported. Maximal and Lowest Observed Frequencies variations were studied under the quiet Space Weather conditions. The diurnal ionospheric variations by OIS signal confirm the results based on GNSS data in the Mexican region. The best HF radio propagation conditions along the considered path are during morning and daytime hours. The multi-hop propagation is frequent. The interlayer propagation modes are present at nighttime

Effects of rapeseed variety and oil extraction method on the content and ileal digestibility of crude protein and amino acids in rapeseed cake and softly processed rapeseed meal fed to broiler chickens

We examined the effects of rapeseed variety and oil extraction method on crude protein (CP) and amino acid (AA) content in rapeseed co-products, and determined their coefficient of apparent (AID) and standardised ileal digestibility (SID) in broiler chickens. Sixteen rapeseed samples were de-oiled; four were cold-pressed producing rapeseed cake (RSC) and twelve were mild processed and hexane-extracted producing soft rapeseed meal (SRSM). One batch of the variety Compass, grown on the same farm, was processed using both methods obtaining Compass RSC and Compass SRSM. DK Cabernet rapeseed variety, grown on three different farms, was used to produce two SRSM batches and one RSC batch. All rapeseed co-products were ground through a 4 mm screen and mixed into semi-synthetic diets at a level of 500 g/kg. Day-old Ross 308 male broilers were fed a commercial diet for 14 days. A total of 96 pairs of birds were then allotted to 1 of 16 dietary treatments (n = 6) and fed a test diet for 8 days. Birds were then culled allowing removal of ileal digesta from Meckel’s diverticulum to the ileal-caecal junction. Digestibility of CP and AA was determined using titanium dioxide as an inert marker. The SRSM samples had an increased content of CP (419–560 g/kg DM) compared to RSC samples (293–340 g/kg DM). Both AID and SID of lysine, and SID of arginine, histidine and threonine were greater in Compass RSC compared to its SRSM counterpart (P 0.05). The SID of lysine was on average 0.03 units greater (P < 0.001) in RSC than in SRSM. The SRSM produced from variety PR46W21 showed similar or greater AID and SID of individual AA than the RSC from four other rapeseed varieties. It is concluded that selection of rapeseed varieties, and extraction method have a potential to deliver high-protein dietary ingredients with a good digestibility value

Antifungal protection by endophytic bacteria in legumes

PosterPeanut and chickpea are two of the major crops cultivated in Argentina Two different fungal diseases generate substantial yield losses annually Ascochyta rabiei causal agent of aschochyta blight and Thecaphora frezii is the causal agent of peanut smut Beneficial bacteria have the potential to provide antifungal effects that could be used as bioproducts to control these diseases Our project aims to identify endophytic bacteria with antifungal effects in vitro and in vivo.Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos VegetalesFil: Valetti, Lucio. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Valetti, Lucio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola (UFyMA); ArgentinaFil: Sardo, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola (UFyMA); ArgentinaFil: Sardo, María Florencia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Posada, Gisella. Instituto Superior Albert Sabin; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez, Pablo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez, Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA) ; ArgentinaFil: Parola, Rodrigo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; ArgentinaFil: Parola, Rodrigo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA) ; ArgentinaFil: Paredes, Juan Andrés. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola (UFyMA); ArgentinaFil: Paredes, Juan Andrés. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Monguillot, Joaquín Humberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Fitopatología y Modelización Agrícola (UFyMA); ArgentinaFil: Monguillot, Joaquín Humberto. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Ruiz, O.A. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto Tecnológico de Chascomús (INTECH); Argentna. Universidad Nacional de San Martín; ArgentinaFil: Guzzo, María Carla. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; ArgentinaFil: Guzzo, María Carla. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA) ; ArgentinaFil: Monteoliva, Mariela Ines. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; ArgentinaFil: Monteoliva, Mariela Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA) ; Argentin

Mexican design of a tokamak experimental facility

Mexico presents its proposal Tokamak Experimental Facility design under the necessary effort to develop Science and Technology into the thermonuclear magnetic confinement fusion area. This Research and Development Project (R+D) was approved by the Mexican Education Ministry (SEP, spanish acronyms) in 2007 for its actual development stage at Facultad de Ingenier´ıa Mec´anica y El´ectrica (FIME) - Universidad Aut´onoma de Nuevo Le´on (UANL).We have made this effort in order to unify and consolidate under a tokamak experimental configuration the Mexican Energy Fusion Program and generate an attractive scientific technological proposal to the mexican research centres with main objective to participate in ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) development. This present design aims to generate, innovate, understand and develop scientific and technological fusion knowledge, also to form researchers in fusion confinement area. We consider at this time that nuclear fusion represents an attractive, powerful and clean energy source. This R+D Project involves multidisciplinary physics and engineering areas that coexists into a nuclear fusion reactor, science and technology works together to establish a natural symbiosis between theory and experiments. Our tokamak facility design, at this time, is being developed and simulated under the use of COMSOL Multiphysics and 3D CAD software, all programs running under Gentoo GNU/Linux installed in our SGI Altix XE250 Platform. With this resources we can develop entirely systems involved in our magnetic confinement fusion research line, focused in the stronger application of engineering, technology and science concepts, developing systems and devices into this energy source generation. Taking advantage of this computational infrastructure we have proposed the possibility to participate throught this tokamak facility, studying and developing research over plasmas stability, confinement regimes and resonant magnetic field perturbation

Influence of birth cohort on age of onset cluster analysis in bipolar I disorder

PURPOSE: Two common approaches to identify subgroups of patients with bipolar disorder are clustering methodology (mixture analysis) based on the age of onset, and a birth cohort analysis. This study investigates if a birth cohort effect will influence the results of clustering on the age of onset, using a large, international database. METHODS: The database includes 4037 patients with a diagnosis of bipolar I disorder, previously collected at 36 collection sites in 23 countries. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to adjust the data for country median age, and in some models, birth cohort. Model-based clustering (mixture analysis) was then performed on the age of onset data using the residuals. Clinical variables in subgroups were compared. RESULTS: There was a strong birth cohort effect. Without adjusting for the birth cohort, three subgroups were found by clustering. After adjusting for the birth cohort or when considering only those born after 1959, two subgroups were found. With results of either two or three subgroups, the youngest subgroup was more likely to have a family history of mood disorders and a first episode with depressed polarity. However, without adjusting for birth cohort (three subgroups), family history and polarity of the first episode could not be distinguished between the middle and oldest subgroups. CONCLUSION: These results using international data confirm prior findings using single country data, that there are subgroups of bipolar I disorder based on the age of onset, and that there is a birth cohort effect. Including the birth cohort adjustment altered the number and characteristics of subgroups detected when clustering by age of onset. Further investigation is needed to determine if combining both approaches will identify subgroups that are more useful for research

Transitions of cardio-metabolic risk factors in the Americas between 1980 and 2014

Describing the prevalence and trends of cardiometabolic risk factors that are associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is crucial for monitoring progress, planning prevention, and providing evidence to support policy efforts. We aimed to analyse the transition in body-mass index (BMI), obesity, blood pressure, raised blood pressure, and diabetes in the Americas, between 1980 and 2014

Epstein-Barr virus: clinical and epidemiological revisits and genetic basis of oncogenesis

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is classified as a member in the order herpesvirales, family herpesviridae, subfamily gammaherpesvirinae and the genus lymphocytovirus. The virus is an exclusively human pathogen and thus also termed as human herpesvirus 4 (HHV4). It was the first oncogenic virus recognized and has been incriminated in the causation of tumors of both lymphatic and epithelial nature. It was reported in some previous studies that 95% of the population worldwide are serologically positive to the virus. Clinically, EBV primary infection is almost silent, persisting as a life-long asymptomatic latent infection in B cells although it may be responsible for a transient clinical syndrome called infectious mononucleosis. Following reactivation of the virus from latency due to immunocompromised status, EBV was found to be associated with several tumors. EBV linked to oncogenesis as detected in lymphoid tumors such as Burkitt's lymphoma (BL), Hodgkin's disease (HD), post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) and T-cell lymphomas (e.g. Peripheral T-cell lymphomas; PTCL and Anaplastic large cell lymphomas; ALCL). It is also linked to epithelial tumors such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), gastric carcinomas and oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL). In vitro, EBV many studies have demonstrated its ability to transform B cells into lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). Despite these malignancies showing different clinical and epidemiological patterns when studied, genetic studies have suggested that these EBV- associated transformations were characterized generally by low level of virus gene expression with only the latent virus proteins (LVPs) upregulated in both tumors and LCLs. In this review, we summarize some clinical and epidemiological features of EBV- associated tumors. We also discuss how EBV latent genes may lead to oncogenesis in the different clinical malignancie