On the validity of the method of reduction of dimensionality: area of contact, average interfacial separation and contact stiffness

It has recently been suggested that many contact mechanics problems between solids can be accurately studied by mapping the problem on an effective one dimensional (1D) elastic foundation model. Using this 1D mapping we calculate the contact area and the average interfacial separation between elastic solids with nominally flat but randomly rough surfaces. We show, by comparison to exact numerical results, that the 1D mapping method fails even qualitatively. We also calculate the normal interfacial stiffness $K$ and compare it with the result of an analytical study. We attribute the failure of the elastic foundation model to the neglect of the long-range elastic coupling between the asperity contact regions.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 29 reference

Long-Term Impact of Liming on Soil C and N in a Fertile Spruce Forest Ecosystem

Liming can counteract acidification in forest soils, but the effects on soil C and N pools and fluxes over long periods are less well understood. Replicated plots in an acidic and N-rich 40-year-old Norway spruce (Picea abies) forest in SW Sweden (Hasslov) were treated with 0, 3.45 and 8.75 Mg ha(-1)of dolomitic lime (D0, D2 and D3) in 1984. Between 1984 and 2016, soil organic C to 30 cm depth increased by 28 Mg ha(-1)(30% increase) in D0 and decreased by 9 Mg ha(-1)(9.4% decrease) in D3. The change in D2 was not significant (+ 2 Mg ha(-1)). Soil N pools changed proportionally to those in soil C pools. The C and N changes occurred almost exclusively in the top organic layer. Non-burrowing earthworms responded positively to liming and stimulated heterotrophic respiration in this layer in both D2 and D3. Burrowing earthworms in D3 further accelerated C and N turnover and loss of soil. The high soil C and N loss at our relatively N-rich site differs from studies of N-poor sites showing no C and N loss. Earthworms need both high pH and N-rich food to reach high abundance and biomass. This can explain why liming of N-rich soils often results in decreasing C and N pools, whereas liming of N-poor soils with few earthworms will not show any change in soil C and N. Extractable nitrate N was always higher in D3 than in D2 and D0. After 6 years (1990), potential nitrification was much higher in D3 (197 kg N ha(-1)) than in D0 (36 kg N ha(-1)), but this difference decreased during the following years, when also the unlimed organic layers showed high nitrification potential. Our experiment finds that high-dose liming of acidic N-rich forest soils produces an initial pulse of soil heterotrophic respiration and increases in earthworm biomass, which together cause long-term declines in soil C and N pools

Early Prenatal Food Supplementation Ameliorates Thenegative Association of Maternal Stress With Birth Size in a Randomised Trial

Low birthweight increases the risk of infant mortality, morbidity and poor development. Maternal nutrition and stress influence birth size, but their combined effect is not known.We hypothesised that an early-invitation time to start a prenatal food supplementation programme could reduce the negative influence of prenatal maternal stress on birth size, and that effect would differ by infant sex. A cohort of 1041 pregnant women, who had delivered an infant, June 2003–March 2004, was sampled from among 3267 in the randomised controlled trial, Maternal Infant Nutritional Interventions Matlab, conducted in Matlab, Bangladesh. At 8 weeks gestation, women were randomly assigned an invitation to start food supplements (2.5 MJ d-1 ; 6 days a week) either early (~9 weeks gestation; early-invitation group) or at usual start time for the governmental programme (~20 weeks gestation; usual-invitation group). Morning concentration of cortisol was measured from one saliva sample/ woman at 28–32 weeks gestation to assess stress. Birth-size measurements for 90% of infants were collected within 4 days of birth. In a general linear model, there was an interaction between invitation time to start the food supplementation programme and cortisol with birthweight, length and head circumference of male infants, but not female infants. Among the usual-invitation group only, male infants whose mothers had higher prenatal cortisol weighed less than those whose mothers had lower prenatal cortisol. Prenatal food supplementation programmes that begin first trimester may support greater birth size of male infants despite high maternal stress where low birthweight is a public health concern

Early Prenatal Food Supplementation Ameliorates Thenegative Association of Maternal Stress With Birth Size in a Randomised Trial

Low birthweight increases the risk of infant mortality, morbidity and poor development. Maternal nutrition and stress influence birth size, but their combined effect is not known.We hypothesised that an early-invitation time to start a prenatal food supplementation programme could reduce the negative influence of prenatal maternal stress on birth size, and that effect would differ by infant sex. A cohort of 1041 pregnant women, who had delivered an infant, June 2003–March 2004, was sampled from among 3267 in the randomised controlled trial, Maternal Infant Nutritional Interventions Matlab, conducted in Matlab, Bangladesh. At 8 weeks gestation, women were randomly assigned an invitation to start food supplements (2.5 MJ d-1 ; 6 days a week) either early (~9 weeks gestation; early-invitation group) or at usual start time for the governmental programme (~20 weeks gestation; usual-invitation group). Morning concentration of cortisol was measured from one saliva sample/ woman at 28–32 weeks gestation to assess stress. Birth-size measurements for 90% of infants were collected within 4 days of birth. In a general linear model, there was an interaction between invitation time to start the food supplementation programme and cortisol with birthweight, length and head circumference of male infants, but not female infants. Among the usual-invitation group only, male infants whose mothers had higher prenatal cortisol weighed less than those whose mothers had lower prenatal cortisol. Prenatal food supplementation programmes that begin first trimester may support greater birth size of male infants despite high maternal stress where low birthweight is a public health concern

Time scale Hardy-type inequalities with ‘broken’ exponent p

In this paper, some new Hardy-type inequalities involving ?broken? exponents are derived on arbitrary time scales. Our approach uses both convexity and superquadracity arguments, and the results obtained generalize, complement and provide refinements of some known results in literatur

American Military Culture and Civil-Military Relations Today

We demonstrate a standard-free method to retrieve compositional information in AlxIn1-xN thin films by measuring the bulk plasmon energy (E-p), employing electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). Two series of samples were grown by magnetron sputter epitaxy (MSE) and metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE), which together cover the full compositional range 0 <= x <= 1. Complementary compositional measurements were obtained using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) and the lattice parameters were obtained by X-ray diffraction (XRD). It is shown that E-p follows a linear relation with respect to composition and lattice parameter between the alloying elements from AlN to InN allowing for straightforward compositional analysis. (C) 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhei

Use of the new World Health Organization child growth standards to describe longitudinal growth of breastfed rural Bangladeshi infants and young children.

BACKGROUND: Although the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reference has been widely used, in 2006 the World Health Organization (WHO) released new standards for assessing growth of infants and children worldwide. OBJECTIVE: To assess and compare the growth of breastfed rural Bangladeshi infants and young children based on the new WHO child growth standards and the NCHS reference. METHODS: We followed 1343 children in the Maternal and Infant Nutrition Intervention in Matlab (MINIMat) study from birth to 24 months of age. Weights and lengths of the children were measured monthly during infancy and quarterly in the second year of life. Anthropometric indices were calculated using both WHO standards and the NCHS reference. The growth pattern and estimates of undernutrition based on the WHO standards and the NCHS reference were compared. RESULTS: The mean birthweight was 2697 +/- 401 g, with 30% weighing <2500 g. The growth pattern of the MINIMat children more closely tracked the WHO standards than it did the NCHS reference. The rates of stunting based on the WHO standards were higher than the rates based on the NCHS reference throughout the first 24 months. The rates of underweight and wasting based on the WHO standards were significantly different from those based on the NCHS reference. CONCLUSIONS: This comparison confirms that use of the NCHS reference misidentifies undernutrition and the timing of growth faltering in infants and young children, which was a key rationale for constructing the new WHO standards. The new WHO child growth standards provide a benchmark for assessing the growth of breastfed infants and children

Household food security is associated with growth of infants and young children in rural Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVE: Despite a strong relationship between household food security and the health and nutritional status of adults and older children, the association of household food security with the growth of infants and young children has not been adequately studied, particularly in developing countries. We examined the association between household food security and subsequent growth of infants and young children in rural Bangladesh. DESIGN: We followed 1343 children from birth to 24 months of age who were born in the Maternal and Infant Nutrition Intervention in Matlab (MINIMat) study in rural Bangladesh. A food security scale was created from data collected on household food security from the mothers during pregnancy. Data on weight and length were collected monthly in the first year and quarterly in the second year of life. Anthropometric indices were calculated relative to the 2006 WHO child growth standards. Growth trajectories were modelled using multilevel models for change controlling for possible confounders. RESULTS: Household food security was associated (P < 0.05) with greater subsequent weight and length gain in this cohort. Attained weight, length and anthropometric indices from birth to 24 months were higher (P < 0.001) among those who were in food-secure households. Proportions of underweight and stunting were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in food-secure households. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that household food security is a determinant of child growth in rural Bangladesh, and that it may be necessary to ensure food security of these poor rural households to prevent highly prevalent undernutrition in this population and in similar settings elsewhere in the world

Regulating Sustainable Finance in Capital Markets: A Perspective from Socially Embedded Decentered Regulation

We present an ab initio theoretical analysis of the temperature-dependent stability of inherently nanolaminated (Cr1−xMnx)2AlC. The results indicate energetic stability over the composition range x = 0.0 to 0.5 for temperatures ≥600 K. Corresponding thin film compounds were grown by magnetron sputtering from four elemental targets. X-ray diffraction in combination with analytical transmission electron microscopy, including electron energy-loss spectroscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy analysis, revealed that the films were epitaxial (0001)-oriented single-crystals with x up to 0.16.Funding Agencies|European Research Council under the European Community|258509227754|Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation||Swedish Research Council|||DFG-SPP 1299|</p

Appropriate infant feeding practices result in better growth of infants and young children in rural Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund recommend a global strategy for feeding infants and young children for proper nutrition and health. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the effects of following current infant feeding recommendations on the growth of infants and young children in rural Bangladesh. DESIGN: The prospective cohort study involved 1343 infants with monthly measurements on infant feeding practices (IFPs) and anthropometry at 17 occasions from birth to 24 mo of age to assess the main outcomes of weight, length, anthropometric indexes, and undernutrition. We created infant feeding scales relative to the infant feeding recommendations and modeled growth trajectories with the use of multilevel models for change. RESULTS: Mean (+/-SD) birth weight was 2697 +/- 401 g; 30% weighed < 2500 g. Mean body weight at 12 and 24 mo was 7.9 +/- 1.1 kg and 9.7 +/- 1.3 kg, respectively. More appropriate IFPs were associated (P < 0.001) with greater gain in weight and length during infancy. Prior IFPs were also positively associated (P < 0.005) with subsequent growth in weight during infancy. Children who were in the 75th percentile of the infant feeding scales had greater (P < 0.05) attained weight and weight-for-age z scores and lower proportions of underweight compared with children who were in the 25th percentile of these scales. CONCLUSIONS: Our results provide strong evidence for the positive effects of following the current infant feeding recommendations on growth of infants and young children. Intervention programs should strive to improve conditions for enhancing current infant feeding recommendations, particularly in low-income countries