Neutron diffraction residual stress measurements on girth-welded 304 stainless steel pipes with weld metal deposited up to half and full pipe wall thickness

The residual stress distribution has been measured in two girth-welded austenitic stainless steel pipe weldments using time-of-flight neutron diffraction. One had weld filler metal deposited up to half the pipe wall thickness, and one had weld metal deposited up to full pipe wall thickness. The aim of the work is to evaluate the evolution in residual stress profile on filling the weld, on which there is little experimental data, and where the selection of the correct hardening model used in finite element modelling can benefit greatly from an understanding of the intermediate residual stresses partway through the welding operation. The measured residual stresses are compared with those calculated by finite element modelling and measured using X-ray diffraction. The results show a change in the measured hoop stress at the weld toe from tension to compression between the half-and fully-filled weld. The finite element results show an overprediction of the residual stress, which may be a consequence of the simple isotropic hardening model applied. The results have implications for the likely occurrence of stress corrosion cracking in this important type of pipe-to-pipe weldment

Association of cord blood methylation fractions at imprinted insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), plasma IGF2, and birth weight

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The triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREM) in inflammatory bowel disease pathogenesis

The Triggering Receptors Expressed on Myeloid cells (TREM) are a family of cell-surface molecules that control inflammation, bone homeostasis, neurological development and blood coagulation. TREM-1 and TREM-2, the best-characterized receptors so far, play divergent roles in several infectious diseases. In the intestine, TREM-1 is highly expressed by macrophages, contributing to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) pathogenesis. Contrary to current understanding, TREM-2 also promotes inflammation in IBD by fueling dendritic cell functions. This review will focus specifically on recent insights into the role of TREM proteins in IBD development, and discuss opportunities for novel treatment approaches

Comparative epidemiologic characteristics of pertussis in 10 Central and Eastern European countries, 2000-2013

Publisher Copyright: © 2016 Heininger et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.We undertook an epidemiological survey of the annual incidence of pertussis reported from 2000 to 2013 in ten Central and Eastern European countries to ascertain whether increased pertussis reports in some countries share common underlying drivers or whether there are specific features in each country. The annual incidence of pertussis in the participating countries was obtained from relevant government institutions and/or national surveillance systems. We reviewed the changes in the pertussis incidence rates in each country to explore differences and/or similarities between countries in relation to pertussis surveillance; case definitions for detection and confirmation of pertussis; incidence and number of cases of pertussis by year, overall and by age group; population by year, overall and by age group; pertussis immunization schedule and coverage, and switch from whole-cell pertussis vaccines (wP) to acellular pertussis vaccines (aP). There was heterogeneity in the reported annual incidence rates and trends observed across countries. Reported pertussis incidence rates varied considerably, ranging from 0.01 to 96 per 100,000 population, with the highest rates generally reported in Estonia and the lowest in Hungary and Serbia. The greatest burden appears for the most part in infants (<1 year) in Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Romania, and Serbia, but not in the other participating countries where the burden may have shifted to older children, though surveillance of adults may be inappropriate. There was no consistent pattern associated with the switch from wP to aP vaccines on reported pertussis incidence rates. The heterogeneity in reported data may be related to a number of factors including surveillance system characteristics or capabilities, different case definitions, type of pertussis confirmation tests used, public awareness of the disease, as well as real differences in the magnitude of the disease, or a combination of these factors. Our study highlights the need to standardize pertussis detection and confirmation in surveillance programs across Europe, complemented with carefully-designed seroprevalence studies using the same protocols and methodologies.publishersversionPeer reviewe