Free Vibration Analysis Of The Moderately Thick Laminated Composite Rectangular Plate On Two-Parameter Elastic Foundation With Elastic Boundary Conditions

An improved Fourier series method is presented for the free vibration analysis of the moderately thick laminated composite rectangular plate with general elastic supports and point supports resting on an elastic foundation. The approach is based on the first order shear deformation theory and foundation effect using two-parameter Pasternak foundation model. The displacement and rotation functions are generally sought, regardless of boundary conditions, as Fourier series and supplementary functions. All the series expansion coefficients are determined using the Rayleigh-Ritz technique. The excellent accuracy of the current results is validated by comparing them with existing results

Comparison of Volatile Compounds in Two Brandies Using HS-SPME Coupled with GC-O, GC-MS and Sensory Evaluation

The aim of this study was to compare the volatile compounds between Changyu XO and Hennessy XO. Sensoryevaluation was performed by a panel of tasters. Qualitative and semi-quantitative analysis was achieved byheadspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME), coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS)and gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O). A total of 160 volatile compounds were identified in the twobrands of brandy. Of these, 118 compounds were common to both Changyu XO and Hennessy XO; 18 compoundswere specific to Changyu XO and 24 were specific to Hennessy XO. A total of 85 aroma compounds responsiblefor brandy flavour were identified by GC-O, of which 68 were common to both brands, while seven and tenwere specific to Changyu XO and Hennessy XO, respectively. The study provided detailed information aboutthe compounds responsible for the characteristic flavour of specific brandies. According to statistical analysis,significant differences were recorded between Changyu XO and Hennessy XO. Most volatile compounds inChangyu XO occurred at lower concentrations than those in Hennessy XO. Based on sensory evaluation analysis,the floral, alcohol and rancid aroma descriptors achieved higher scores in Changyu XO and Hennessy XO, whilethe lime aroma seemed specific to Hennessy XO. Herb and almond aromas were specific to Changyu XO

A novel size independent symplectic analytical singular element for inclined crack terminating at bimaterial interface

Cracks often exist in composite structures, especially at the interface of two different materials. These cracks can significantly affect the load bearing capacity of the structure and lead to premature failure of the structure. In this paper, a novel element for modeling the singular stress state around the inclined interface crack which terminates at the interface is developed. This new singular element is derived based on the explicit form of the high order eigen solution which is, for the first time, determined by using a symplectic approach. The developed singular element is then applied in finite element analysis and the stress intensity factors (SIFs) for a number of crack configurations are derived. It has been concluded that composites with complex geometric configurations of inclined interface cracks can be accurately simulated by the developed method, according to comparison of the results against benchmarks. It has been found that the stiffness matrix of the proposed singular element is independent of the element size and the SIFs of the crack can be solved directly without any post-processing

Controllable Laser Ion Acceleration

In this paper a future laser ion accelerator is discussed to make the laser-based ion accelerator compact and controllable. Especially a collimation device is focused in this paper. The future laser ion accelerator should have an ion source, ion collimators, ion beam bunchers, and ion post acceleration devices [Laser Therapy 22, 103(2013)]: the ion particle energy and the ion energy spectrum are controlled to meet requirements for a future compact laser ion accelerator for ion cancer therapy or for other purposes. The energy efficiency from the laser to ions is improved by using a solid target with a fine sub-wavelength structure or a near-critical density gas plasma. The ion beam collimation is performed by holes behind the solid target or a multi-layered solid target. The control of the ion energy spectrum and the ion particle energy, and the ion beam bunching would be successfully realized by a multistage laser-target interaction

Alterations to nuclear architecture and genome behavior in senescent cells.

The organization of the genome within interphase nuclei, and how it interacts with nuclear structures is important for the regulation of nuclear functions. Many of the studies researching the importance of genome organization and nuclear structure are performed in young, proliferating, and often transformed cells. These studies do not reveal anything about the nucleus or genome in nonproliferating cells, which may be relevant for the regulation of both proliferation and replicative senescence. Here, we provide an overview of what is known about the genome and nuclear structure in senescent cells. We review the evidence that nuclear structures, such as the nuclear lamina, nucleoli, the nuclear matrix, nuclear bodies (such as promyelocytic leukemia bodies), and nuclear morphology all become altered within growth-arrested or senescent cells. Specific alterations to the genome in senescent cells, as compared to young proliferating cells, are described, including aneuploidy, chromatin modifications, chromosome positioning, relocation of heterochromatin, and changes to telomeres

Genome-wide association study identifies 30 Loci Associated with Bipolar Disorder

This paper is dedicated to the memory of Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) founding member and Bipolar disorder working group co-chair Pamela Sklar. We thank the participants who donated their time, experiences and DNA to this research, and to the clinical and scientific teams that worked with them. We are deeply indebted to the investigators who comprise the PGC. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of any funding or regulatory body. Analyses were carried out on the NL Genetic Cluster Computer (http://www.geneticcluster.org ) hosted by SURFsara, and the Mount Sinai high performance computing cluster (http://hpc.mssm.edu).Bipolar disorder is a highly heritable psychiatric disorder. We performed a genome-wide association study including 20,352 cases and 31,358 controls of European descent, with follow-up analysis of 822 variants with P<1x10-4 in an additional 9,412 cases and 137,760 controls. Eight of the 19 variants that were genome-wide significant (GWS, p < 5x10-8) in the discovery GWAS were not GWS in the combined analysis, consistent with small effect sizes and limited power but also with genetic heterogeneity. In the combined analysis 30 loci were GWS including 20 novel loci. The significant loci contain genes encoding ion channels, neurotransmitter transporters and synaptic components. Pathway analysis revealed nine significantly enriched gene-sets including regulation of insulin secretion and endocannabinoid signaling. BDI is strongly genetically correlated with schizophrenia, driven by psychosis, whereas BDII is more strongly correlated with major depressive disorder. These findings address key clinical questions and provide potential new biological mechanisms for BD.This work was funded in part by the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, Stanley Medical Research Institute, University of Michigan, Pritzker Neuropsychiatric Disorders Research Fund L.L.C., Marriot Foundation and the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine, the NIMH Intramural Research Program; Canadian Institutes of Health Research; the UK Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, NIHR, NRS, MRC, Wellcome Trust; European Research Council; German Ministry for Education and Research, German Research Foundation IZKF of Münster, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, ImmunoSensation, the Dr. Lisa-Oehler Foundation, University of Bonn; the Swiss National Science Foundation; French Foundation FondaMental and ANR; Spanish Ministerio de Economía, CIBERSAM, Industria y Competitividad, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Generalitat de Catalunya, EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme; BBMRI-NL; South-East Norway Regional Health Authority and Mrs. Throne-Holst; Swedish Research Council, Stockholm County Council, Söderström Foundation; Lundbeck Foundation, Aarhus University; Australia NHMRC, NSW Ministry of Health, Janette M O'Neil and Betty C Lynch

Identification of common genetic risk variants for autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heritable and heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental phenotypes diagnosed in more than 1% of children. Common genetic variants contribute substantially to ASD susceptibility, but to date no individual variants have been robustly associated with ASD. With a marked sample-size increase from a unique Danish population resource, we report a genome-wide association meta-analysis of 18,381 individuals with ASD and 27,969 controls that identified five genome-wide-significant loci. Leveraging GWAS results from three phenotypes with significantly overlapping genetic architectures (schizophrenia, major depression, and educational attainment), we identified seven additional loci shared with other traits at equally strict significance levels. Dissecting the polygenic architecture, we found both quantitative and qualitative polygenic heterogeneity across ASD subtypes. These results highlight biological insights, particularly relating to neuronal function and corticogenesis, and establish that GWAS performed at scale will be much more productive in the near term in ASD.Peer reviewe

Age at first birth in women is genetically associated with increased risk of schizophrenia

Prof. Paunio on PGC:n jäsenPrevious studies have shown an increased risk for mental health problems in children born to both younger and older parents compared to children of average-aged parents. We previously used a novel design to reveal a latent mechanism of genetic association between schizophrenia and age at first birth in women (AFB). Here, we use independent data from the UK Biobank (N = 38,892) to replicate the finding of an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women, and to estimate the genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in women stratified into younger and older groups. We find evidence for an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women (P-value = 1.12E-05), and we show genetic heterogeneity between younger and older AFB groups (P-value = 3.45E-03). The genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in the younger AFB group is -0.16 (SE = 0.04) while that between schizophrenia and AFB in the older AFB group is 0.14 (SE = 0.08). Our results suggest that early, and perhaps also late, age at first birth in women is associated with increased genetic risk for schizophrenia in the UK Biobank sample. These findings contribute new insights into factors contributing to the complex bio-social risk architecture underpinning the association between parental age and offspring mental health.Peer reviewe