Integration & Process Planning for Combined Ultrasonic Consolidation

A research project is underway to integrate an nScrypt Smart PumpTM 100 direct write nozzle with a Solidica FormationTM ultrasonic consolidation machine to rapidly fabricate parts with novel multi-functional features. The process of integration of both machines has been addressed, and an appropriate process planning sequence to exploit the capabilities of the integrated technologies is developed. General processing guidelines are formulated, and form the basis for further fundamental research and for the production of proof of concept multi-functional parts to demonstrate the usefulness of this integration.Mechanical Engineerin

Investigation of Support Materials for Use in Ultrasonic Consolidation

This paper provides an overview of the need for supports and what characterizes a good support material for Ultrasonic Consolidation. The goal is to look at a broad range of possible support material choices and the benefits and drawbacks of each. By manually depositing support materials during a build, each material is evaluated for its performance for three different configurations: an enclosed pocket, freestanding rib, and open channel. These configurations represent commonly seen features that often need to be built using Ultrasonic Consolidation, but currently cannot be well constructed. The builds are constructed with 3003 Aluminum tapes at room temperature. Microstructures are also studied to evaluate the consolidated material.Mechanical Engineerin

Integrating UC and FDM to Create a Support Materials Deposition System

Currently there is no automated deposition system available for support materials in Ultrasonic Consolidation. Support materials are important to the UC technology because of the benefits that can be geometrically achieved. Without an integrated support materials system many geometries and features will be impossible to create. This paper describes the approach taken to integrate UC and FDM in order to automatically deposit materials as a support in a UC machine. This includes the process setup, design, and planning. Finally a build process integrating the two machines is shown to demonstrate that automated support material deposition in UC is possible.Mechanical Engineerin

Tolerância da mandioca a diferentes herbicidas aplicados em pós-emergência

Cassava has a long cycle and slow initial growth, which facilitates development of weeds that will compete with the culture. It was aimed to evaluate the tolerance of cassava cultivar Aciolina, the different herbicides in the early stages of crop development. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, in a completely randomized design with four replications. The evaluated treatments were: haloxyfop (60 g ha-1 a.i.), lactofen (180 g ha-1 a.i.), chorimuron-ethyl (17.5 g ha-1 a.i.), bentazon (576 g ha-1 a.i.), bentazon + imazamox (600 + 28 g ha-1 a.i.), imazethapyr (100 g ha-1 a.i.), fomesafen (250 g ha-1 a.i.), quizalofop-P-ethyl (62.5 g ha-1 a.i.), lactofen + quizalofop-P-ethyl (180 + 62.5 g ha-1 a.i.), fomesafen + quizalofop-P-ethyl (250 + 62.5 g ha-1 a.i.), and a control. Were performed visual assessments of intoxication, plant height and number of leaves, dry mass of the leaves, stem, root dry mass total and leaf area. The herbicides bentazon, fomesafen and fomesafen + quizalofop-P-ethyl caused high injury but not affect the development of plants. The imazethapyr herbicide interfered in development of culture by reducing in 58.03% the height and 35.87% dry weight of plants. Deformations were observed in young leaves with treatment bentazon + imazamox. The use of lactofen + quizalofop-P-ethyl resulted in plant death, the use of lactofen significantly reduced all variables. Cassava, cv. Aciolina, showed tolerance to herbicides haloxyfop and quizalofop and chlorimuron-ethyl. The lactofen, imazethapyr, bentazon + imazamox and quizalofop + lactofen cause severe damage to the cassava crop.A mandioca apresenta ciclo longo e crescimento inicial lento, o que facilita desenvolvimento das plantas daninhas que irão competir com a cultura. Objetivou-se avaliar a tolerância da mandioca, cultivar Aciolina, a diferentes herbicidas, na fase inicial de desenvolvimento da cultura. O experimento foi conduzido em casa de vegetação, em delineamento inteiramente casualizados com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos avaliados foram: haloxyfop (60 g ha-1 i.a), lactofen (180 g ha-1 i.a), chorimuron-ethyl (17,5 g ha-1 i.a), bentazon (576 g ha-1 i.a), bentazon + imazamox (600 + 28 g ha-1 i.a), imazethapyr (100 g ha-1 i.a), fomesafen (250 g ha-1 i.a), quizalofop-P-ethyl (62,5 g ha-1 i.a), lactofen + quizalofop-P-ethyl (180 + 62,5 g ha-1 i.a), fomesafen + quizalofop-P-ethyl (250 + 62,5 g ha-1 i.a), além de uma testemunha. Foram realizadas avaliações visuais de intoxicação, altura e número de folhas, massa seca foliar, da haste, raiz, massa seca total e área foliar. Os herbicidas bentazon, fomesafen e fomesafen + quizalofop-P-ethyl provocaram injúrias elevadas, porém não comprometeram o desenvolvimento das plantas. O herbicida imazethapyr interferiu no desenvolvimento da cultura reduzindo em 58,03% a altura e em 35,87% a massa seca total das plantas. Foram observadas deformações nas folhas novas com o tratamento bentazon + imazamox. O uso do lactofen + quizalofop-P-ethyl resultou na morte das plantas, o uso do lactofen, reduziu todas as variáveis estudadas. A cv. Aciolina mostrou tolerância aos herbicidas haloxyfop, quizalofop-P-ethyl e chlorimuron-ethyl. Os herbicidas lactofen, imazethapyr, bentazon + imazamox e o lactofen + quizalofop-P-ethyl provocam danos severos a cultura da mandioca

Crescimento inicial do feijão-caupi após aplicação de herbicidas em pós-emergência

The objective of this work was to evaluate the tolerance of cowpea, BSR Aracê, to different herbicides applied in the post-emergence period, in the initial phase of plant growth. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse, in a completely randomized design, with four replications. The treatments evaluated were: haloxyfop (60 g ha-1), lactofen (180 g ha-1), chlorimuron-ethyl (17,5 g ha-1), bentazon (576 g ha-1), bentazon + imazamox (600 + 28 g ha-1), imazethapyr (100 g ha-1), fomesafen (250 g ha-1), quizalofop-P-ethyl (62,5 g ha-1), lactofen + quizalofop-P-ethyl (180 + 62,5 g ha-1), fomesafen + quizalofop-P-ethyl (250 + 62,5 g ha-1) and a control. Were realized visual evaluations of intoxication, plant height, dry leaf mass, stem, root, total dry mass and leaf area. The herbicides haloxyfop and quizalofop-P-ethyl they caused minor damage to the development of cowpea plants. The chlorimuron-ethyl caused severe damage to the crop, interrupting their growth. The lactofen + quizalofop-P-ethyl and fomesafen + quizalofop-P-ethyl mixtures caused high damage to the culture, with lactofen + quizalofop-P-ethyl causing the plants to die at 21 DAAH. It was concluded that cowpea, cv. BRS Aracê, have tolerance to haloxyfop and quizalofop-P-ethyl herbicides, and moderate tolerance to imazethapyr and bentazon + imazamox. The lactofen + quizalofop-P-ethyl and fomesafen + quizalofop-P-ethyl mixtures showed a synergistic effect on bean cowpea. The lactofen + quizalofop-P-ethyl mixture and the chlorimuron-ethyl herbicide cause irreversible damage to the bean cowpea crop.Objetivou-se neste trabalho avaliar a tolerância do feijão-caupi, cultivar BSR Aracê, a diferentes herbicidas aplicados em pós-emergência, na fase inicial de crescimento das plantas. O experimento foi conduzido em casa de vegetação, em delineamento inteiramente casualizados, com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos avaliados foram: haloxyfop (60 g ha-1), lactofen (180 g ha-1), chlorimuron-ethyl (17,5 g ha-1), bentazon (576 g ha-1), bentazon + imazamox (600 + 28 g ha-1), imazethapyr (100 g ha-1), fomesafen (250 g ha-1), quizalofop-P-ethyl (62,5 g ha-1), lactofen + quizalofop-P-ethyl (180 + 62,5 g ha-1), fomesafen + quizalofop-P-ethyl (250 + 62,5 g ha-1), e uma testemunha. Foram realizadas avaliações visuais de intoxicação, altura das plantas, massa seca foliar, da haste, raiz, massa seca total e área foliar. Os herbicidas haloxyfop e quizalofop-P-ethyl causaram os menores danos ao desenvolvimento das plantas de feijão-caupi. O chlorimuron-ethyl provocou danos severos à cultura, interrompendo seu crescimento. As misturas lactofen + quizalofop-P-ethyl e fomesafen + quizalofop-P-ethyl provocaram os danos elevados à cultura, sendo que a mistura lactofen + quizalofop-P-ethyl, promoveu a morte das plantas do feijão-caupi. Concluiu-se que o feijão-caupi cv. BRS Aracê têm tolerância aos herbicidas haloxyfop e quizalofop-P-ethyl, e tolerância moderada ao formulado bentazon + imazamox e ao herbicida imazethapyr. As misturas lactofen + quizalofop-P-ethyl e fomesafen + quizalofop-P-ethyl potencializam o efeito dos herbicidas sobre a cultura do feijão-caupi. A mistura lactofen + quizalofop-P-ethyl e o herbicida chlorimuron-ethyl provocam danos irreversíveis à cultura do feijão-caupi

Design and Key Features of the PIAAC Survey of Adults

This chapter gives an overview of the most important features of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) survey as it pertains to two main goals. First, only a well-designed survey will lead to accurate and comparable test scores across different countries and languages both within and across assessment cycles. Second, only an understanding of its complex survey design will lead to proper use of the PIAAC data in secondary analyses and meaningful interpretation of results by psychometricians, data analysts, scientists, and policymakers. The chapter begins with a brief introduction to the PIAAC survey followed by an overview of the background questionnaire and the cognitive measures. The cognitive measures are then compared to what was assessed in previous international adult surveys. Key features of the assessment design are discussed followed by a section describing what could be done to improve future PIAAC cycles

Neurofilament light chain as a biomarker for acute hepatic porphyrias

BackgroundAcute hepatic porphyrias (AHP) represent a rare group of inherited metabolic disorders of heme biosynthesis pathway. This study aims to determine the diagnostic and prognostic value of serum neurofilament light chain (NfL) as potential biomarker for AHP.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional observational study to evaluate NfL levels in patients with AHP. They were divided in different groups: normal health individuals; patients with definitive diagnosis of AHP during acute episodes; patients with AHP and infrequent attacks; patients with AHP and recurrent attacks; asymptomatic individuals with positive genetic testing and urinary delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and porphobilinogen (PBG) levels elevated 4 or more times (“high excretors”); asymptomatic individuals with exclusive positive genetic test; control group with Hereditary Amyloidosis related to Transthyretin with Polyneuropathy (ATTRv-PN).ResultsDuring acute attacks, serum NfL levels were 68 times higher compared to normal controls and disclosed a strong correlation with ALA and PBG levels; also exhibited elevated levels in patients with chronic symptoms regardless of the number of disease attacks compared to healthy controls, and at similar levels to patients with ATTRv-PN, which is a model of progressive neuropathy.ConclusionThis study represents the first to establish NfL as a biomarker for AHP, disclosing NfL as a sensitive biomarker for axonal damage and chronic symptom occurrence. This study not only underscores that neurological damage associated with the disease in any patient, irrespective of the number of attacks, but also reinforces the progressive and profoundly debilitating nature of acute and chronic symptoms observed in individuals with AHP

Engaging Struggling Adolescent Readers to Improve Reading Skills

This study examined the efficacy of a supplemental, multicomponent adolescent reading intervention for middle school students who scored below proficient on a state literacy assessment. Using a within-school experimental design, the authors randomly assigned 483 students in grades 6–8 to a business-as-usual control condition or to the Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI), a supplemental reading program involving instruction to support word-reading skills, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, and peer talk to promote reading engagement and comprehension. The authors assessed behavioral engagement by measuring how much of the STARI curricular activities students completed during an academic school year, and collected intervention teachers' ratings of their students' reading engagement. STARI students outperformed control students on measures of word recognition (Cohen's d = 0.20), efficiency of basic reading comprehension (Cohen's d = 0.21), and morphological awareness (Cohen's d = 0.18). Reading engagement in its behavioral form, as measured by students' participation and involvement in the STARI curriculum, mediated the treatment effects on each of these three posttest outcomes. Intervention teachers' ratings of their students' emotional and cognitive engagement explained unique variance on reading posttests. Findings from this study support the hypothesis that (a) behavioral engagement fosters struggling adolescents' reading growth, and (b) teachers' perceptions of their students' emotional and cognitive engagement further contribute to reading competence