Evaluation of Residual Stress in 300m Steels Using Magnetization, Barkhausen Effect and X-Ray Diffraction Techniques

This investigation was undertaken to compare the techniques of x-ray diffraction, Barkhausen effect and magnetization measurement as methods of nondestructive evaluation of stress in shot peened 300M steel. In particular we were concerned with the estimation of the level of prevailing applied stress and the compressive overload (plastic deformation) which the samples had been subjected to. The 300M steel used in this study is a constructional material for the landing gears of aircraft, and as these components will eventually experience fatigue failure if not replaced, it was of interest to develop NDE techniques for the assessment of the mechanical condition of landing gears of in-service aircraft

Family memories in the home: contrasting physical and digital mementos

We carried out fieldwork to characterise and compare physical and digital mementos in the home. Physical mementos are highly valued, heterogeneous and support different types of recollection. Contrary to expectations, we found physical mementos are not purely representational, and can involve appropriating common objects and more idiosyncratic forms. In contrast, digital mementos were initially perceived as less valuable, although participants later reconsidered this. Digital mementos were somewhat limited in function and expression, largely involving representational photos and videos, and infrequently accessed. We explain these digital limitations and conclude with design guidelines for digital mementos, including better techniques for accessing and integrating these into everyday life, allowing them to acquire the symbolic associations and lasting value that characterise their physical counterparts

Gastrointestinal failure in intensive care: a retrospective clinical study in three different intensive care units in Germany and Estonia

BACKGROUND: While gastrointestinal problems are common in ICU patients with multiple organ failure, gastrointestinal failure has not been given the consideration other organ systems receive. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of gastrointestinal failure (GIF), to identify its risk factors, and to determine its association with ICU mortality. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of adult patients (n = 2588) admitted to three different ICUs (two ICUs at the university hospital Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany and one at Tartu University Clinics, Estonia) during the year 2002 was performed. Data recorded in a computerized database were used in Berlin. In Tartu, the data documented in the patients' charts was retrospectively transferred into a similar database. GIF was defined as documented gastrointestinal problems (food intolerance, gastrointestinal haemorrhage, and/or ileus) in the patient data at any period of their ICU stay. ICU mortality, length of stay, and duration of mechanical ventilation were assessed as outcome parameters. RESULTS: GIF was identified in 252 patients (9.7% of all patients). Only 20% of GIF patients were identifiable at admission. GIF was related to significantly higher mortality (43.7% vs. 5.3% in patients without GIF), as well as prolonged length of ICU stay (10 vs. 2 days) and mechanical ventilation (8 vs. 1 day), p < 0.001, respectively. Patients' profile (emergency surgical or medical), APACHE II and SOFA scores and the use of catecholamines at admission were identified as independent risk factors for the development of GIF. Development of GIF during ICU stay was an independent predictor for death. CONCLUSION: Gastrointestinal failure represents a relevant clinical problem accompanied by an increased mortality, longer ICU stay and mechanical ventilation

Variation in the Structure of Bird Nests between Northern Manitoba and Southeastern Ontario

Traits that converge in appearance under similar environmental conditions among phylogenetically independent lineages are thought to represent adaptations to local environments. We tested for convergence in nest morphology and composition of birds breeding in two ecologically different locations in Canada: Churchill in northern Manitoba and Elgin in southeastern Ontario. We examined nests from four families of passerine birds (Turdidae: Turdus, Parulidae: Dendroica, Emberizidae: Passerculus and Fringillidae: Carduelis) where closely related populations or species breed in both locations. Nests of American Robins, Yellow Warblers, and Carduelis finches had heavier nest masses, and tended to have thicker nest-walls, in northern Manitoba compared with conspecifics or congenerics breeding in southeastern Ontario. Together, all species showed evidence for wider internal and external nest-cup diameters in northern Manitoba, while individual species showed varying patterns for internal nest-cup and external nest depths. American Robins, Yellow Warblers, and Carduelis finches in northern Manitoba achieved heavier nest masses in different ways. American Robins increased all materials in similar proportions, and Yellow Warblers and Common Redpolls used greater amounts of select materials. While changes in nest composition vary uniquely for each species, the pattern of larger nests in northern Manitoba compared to southeastern Ontario in three of our four phylogenetically-independent comparisons suggests that birds are adapting to similar selective pressures between locations

Increased Levels of BAFF and APRIL Related to Human Active Pulmonary Tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: Despite great efforts to improve diagnosis and treatment, tuberculosis (TB) remains a major health problem worldwide, especially in developing countries. Lack of concrete immune markers is still the obstacle to properly evaluate active TB. Therefore, identification of more validated biomarkers and phenotypic signatures is imperative. In particular, T cell-related biomarkers are more significant. METHODOLOGY: To understand the nature of CD4(+) T cell-derived signatures involved in infection and disease development, we examined and analyzed whole genome expression profiles of purified CD4(+) T cells from healthy individuals (HD), two distinct populations with latent infection (with low or high IFN-γ levels, LTB(L)/LTB(H)) and untreated TB patients. Following, we validated the expression profiles of genes in the peripheral CD4(+) T cells from each group and examined secretion levels of distinct cytokines in serum and pleural effusion. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Our bio-informatic analyses indicate that the two latent populations and clinical TB patients possess distinct CD4(+) T cell gene expression profiles. Furthermore, The mRNA and protein expression levels of B cell activating factor (BAFF), which belongs to the TNF family, and a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL) were markedly up-regulated at the disease stage. In particular, the dramatic enhancement of BAFF and APRIL in the pleural effusion of patients with tuberculosis pleurisy suggests that these proteins may present disease status. In addition, we found that the BAFF/APRIL system was closely related to the Th1 immune response. Our study delineates previously unreported roles of BAFF and APRIL in the development of tuberculosis, and these findings have implications for the diagnosis of the disease. Our study also identifies a number of transcriptional signatures in CD4(+) T cells that have the potential to be utilized as diagnostic and prognostic tools to combat the tuberculosis epidemic

Beyond a Dichotomy of Perspectives: Understanding Religion on the Basis of Paul Natorp’s Logic of Boundary

Based on Paul Natorp’s (1854–1924) late post-Neo-Kantian “Logic of Boundary” (German: “Grenzlogik”) I will offer a methodically controlled, non-reductionist and equally anti-essentialist reconstruction of the notion of religion. The pre-eminent objective of this reconstructive work is to overcome the well-known epistemological as well as methodological problem of a dichotomy between inside and outside perspectives on the subject of religion. Differently put, the objective consists in an attempt to demonstrate that there actually is “reason in religion” that is intellectually accessible for academic knowledge production. Following Natorp’s splendid formulation I will argue that religion operates neither ‘within’ nor ‘beyond’ the ‘boundary of humanity’ but exactly on [or ‘in’] this boundary. More precisely, I will explicate that religious praxis (including its specific production of knowledge) from Natorp’s standpoint can be understood as the performative realization, and habitual embodiment of the (contextually concrete) boundary of humanity or human reason itself. Due to its principial self-referentiality this boundary carries the crucial sense of a first and last positive and, therefore, both in theoretical terms definitive and in practical terms eminently instructive notion of boundary with no outside. This paradoxically all-enclosing, positive boundary, while explicitly including life’s inevitable negativity but, nonetheless, able to ideally sublate it, is the reason why the practice of religion, as empirical evidence unmistakably documents, can provide an incommensurably fulfilling, significant and meaningful closure with regards to the innermost self-perception of its practitioners (concerning their self-determination or agency)