Generating the Best Stacking Sequence Table for the Design of Blended Composite Structures

In order to improve the ability of a large-scale light-weight composite structure to carry tensile or compressive loads, stiffeners are added to the structure. The stiffeners divide the structure into several smaller panels. For a composite structure to be manufacturable, it is necessary that plies are continuous in multiple adjacent panels. To be able to prescribe a manufacturable design, an optimization algorithm can be coupled with a reference table for the stacking sequences (SST). As long as the ply stacks are selected from the SST, it is guaranteed that the design is manufacturable and all strength related guidelines associated with the design of composite structures are satisfied. An SST is made only based on strength related guidelines. Therefore, there exist a large number of possibilities for SSTs. Minimized mass is a typical goal in the design of aircraft structures. Different SSTs result in different values for the minimized mass. Thus it is crucial to perform optimization based on the SST which results in the lowest mass. This paper aims to introduce an approach to generate a unique SST resulting in the lowest mass. The proposed method is applied to the optimization problem of a stiffened composite structure resembling the skin of an aircraft wing box

Aortic calcification and femoral bone density are independently associated with left ventricular mass in patients with chronic kidney disease

Background Vascular calcification and reduced bone density are prevalent in chronic kidney disease and linked to increased cardiovascular risk. The mechanism is unknown. We assessed the relationship between vascular calcification, femoral bone density and left ventricular mass in patients with stage 3 non-diabetic chronic kidney disease in a cross-sectional observational study. Methodology and Principal Findings A total of 120 patients were recruited (54% male, mean age 55±14 years, mean glomerular filtration rate 50±13 ml/min/1.73 m2). Abdominal aortic calcification was assessed using lateral lumbar spine radiography and was present in 48%. Mean femoral Z-score measured using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry was 0.60±1.06. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging was used to determine left ventricular mass. One patient had left ventricular hypertrophy. Subjects with aortic calcification had higher left ventricular mass compared to those without (56±16 vs. 48±12 g/m2, P = 0.002), as did patients with femoral Z-scores below zero (56±15 vs. 49±13 g/m2, P = 0.01). In univariate analysis presence of aortic calcification correlated with left ventricular mass (r = 0.32, P = 0.001); mean femoral Z-score inversely correlated with left ventricular mass (r = −0.28, P = 0.004). In a multivariate regression model that included presence of aortic calcification, mean femoral Z-score, gender and 24-hour systolic blood pressure, 46% of the variability in left ventricular mass was explained (P<0.001). Conclusions In patients with stage 3 non-diabetic chronic kidney disease, lower mean femoral Z-score and presence of aortic calcification are independently associated with increased left ventricular mass. Further research exploring the pathophysiology that underlies these relationships is warranted

Increased glycation and oxidative damage to apolipoprotein B100 of LDL cholesterol in patients with type 2 diabetes and effect of metformin

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate whether apolipoprotein B100 of LDL suffers increased damage by glycation, oxidation, and nitration in patients with type 2 diabetes, including patients receiving metformin therapy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS For this study, 32 type 2 diabetic patients and 21 healthy control subjects were recruited; 13 diabetic patients were receiving metformin therapy (median dose: 1.50 g/day). LDL was isolated from venous plasma by ultracentrifugation, delipidated, digested, and analyzed for protein glycation, oxidation, and nitration adducts by stable isotopic dilution analysis tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS Advanced glycation end product (AGE) content of apolipoprotein B100 of LDL from type 2 diabetic patients was higher than from healthy subjects: arginine-derived AGE, 15.8 vs. 5.3 mol% (P < 0.001); and lysine-derived AGE, 2.5 vs. 1.5 mol% (P < 0.05). Oxidative damage, mainly methionine sulfoxide residues, was also increased: 2.5 vs. 1.1 molar equivalents (P < 0.001). 3-Nitrotyrosine content was decreased: 0.04 vs. 0.12 mol% (P < 0.05). In diabetic patients receiving metformin therapy, arginine-derived AGE and methionine sulfoxide were lower than in patients not receiving metformin: 19.3 vs. 8.9 mol% (P < 0.01) and 2.9 vs. 1.9 mol% (P < 0.05), respectively; 3-nitrotyrosine content was higher: 0.10 vs. 0.03 mol% (P < 0.05). Fructosyl-lysine residue content correlated positively with fasting plasma glucose. Arginine-derived AGE residue contents were intercorrelated and also correlated positively with methionine sulfoxide. CONCLUSIONS Patients with type 2 diabetes had increased arginine-derived AGEs and oxidative damage in apolipoprotein B100 of LDL. This was lower in patients receiving metformin therapy, which may contribute to decreased oxidative damage, atherogenicity, and cardiovascular disease

Influence of temperature and high acetate concentrations on methanogenensis in lake sediment slurries

Methanogenesis from main methane precursors H2/CO2 and acetate was investigated in a temperature range of 2-70 °C using sediments from Lake Baldegg, Switzerland. Psychrophilic, psychrotrophic, mesophilic, and thermophilic methanogenic microbial communities were enriched by incubations for 1-3 months of nonamended sediment slurries at 5, 15, 30, and 50 °C. Isotope experiments with slurries amended with 14C-labeled bicarbonate and 14C-2-acetate showed that in the psychrophilic community (enriched at 5 °C), about 95% of methane originated from acetate, in contrast to the thermophilic community (50 °C) where up to 98% of methane was formed from bicarbonate. In the mesophilic community (30 °C), acetate was the precursor of about 80% of the methane produced. When the hydrogen-carbon dioxide mixture (H2/CO2) was used as a substrate, it was directly converted to methane under thermophilic conditions (70 and 50 °C). Under mesophilic conditions (30 °C), both pathways, hydrogenotrophic and acetoclastic, were observed. At low temperatures (5 and 15 °C), H2/CO2 was converted into methane by a two-step process; first acetate was formed, followed by methane production from acetate. When slurries were incubated at high partial pressures of H2/CO2, the high concentrations of acetate produced of more than 20 mM inhibited acetoclastic methanogenesis at a temperature below 15 °C. However, slow adaptation of the psychrophilic microbial community to high acetate concentrations was observe

NMR implementation of Quantum Delayed-Choice Experiment

We report the first experimental demonstration of quantum delayed-choice experiment via nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. An ensemble of molecules each with two spin-1/2 nuclei are used as target and the ancilla qubits to perform the quantum circuit corresponding the delayed-choice setup. As expected in theory, our experiments clearly demonstrate the continuous morphing of the target qubit between particle-like and wave-like behaviors. The experimental visibility of the interference patterns shows good agreement with the theory.Comment: Revised text, more figures adde

Distended Seminal Vesicles Are Involved in Specific Cerebral Sexual Arousal: A Pilot Study Using Functional Brain Imaging in Young Healthy Men.

Background Whether seminal vesicles play a role in sexual activity in men is unknown. No study so far has compared the neural processing of visual sexual stimuli in men depending on the filling state of the seminal vesicles. Objective To evaluate potential specific cortical activation by visual sexual stimuli with distended and empty seminal vesicles. Design setting and participants A prospective case-control trial was conducted. Six male individuals underwent two visits on 2 consecutive days for hormone analyses; Derogatis Interview for Sexual Functioning (DISF) questionnaire; functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with passively viewing sexual, neutral, positive, and negative emotional pictures; and structural pelvic MRI. After the first visit, the participants had to empty seminal vesicles by masturbation. During fMRI, every participant viewed alternating blocks of sexual, neutral, positive, and negative emotional pictures. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis Comparisons between days 1 and 2 were evaluated using paired t tests. Results and limitations No significant differences were observed regarding hormone analyses, DISF questionnaire score, and arousal scoring between days 1 and 2. Seminal vesicle volume was significantly lower on day 2 (p = 0.003). Significantly higher activation was observed in the right precentral gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, and right superior temporal sulcus when contrasted for sexual over neutral (p < 0.05). Conclusions In response to pictures with sexual emotional content, significantly higher activation was detected in brain areas involved in motor preparation (arousal) and coding of desirability of visual sexual stimuli in men with distended seminal vesicles than in the same men with emptied seminal vesicles. This suggests that the filling state of the seminal vesicles may influence sexual desire in men. Patient summary We compared brain activity of men with filled and emptied seminal vesicles by functional magnetic resonance imaging. We found that men with filled seminal vesicles had higher activation of brain areas involved in arousal and sexual desire

The receptor activator of NF-κB ligand-osteoprotegerin system in pulpal and periapical disease

AIM: To summarize the collective in vitro, in vivo and clinical evidence of the involvement of the receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-osteoprotegerin (OPG) system, a system of two molecules controlling osteoclast differentiation and hard-tissue resorption, in pulpal and periapical pathophysiology. METHODOLOGY: A systematic search related to RANKL and/or OPG and pulp or periapical disease was conducted on Medline, Biosis, Cochrane, Embase and Web of Science databases using keywords and controlled vocabulary. No language restriction was applied. Two independent reviewers first screened titles and abstracts and then the full texts that were initially included. The reference lists of the identified publications were examined for additional titles. RESULTS: A total of 33 papers were identified. In vitro studies (N = 11) revealed that pulpal cells can be stimulated by various inflammatory agents to produce RANKL, whilst many studies did not consider the RANKL/OPG ratio. Animal studies (N = 9) mostly focused on the time course and development of periapical lesions in relation to the RANKL-OPG system. Levels of RANKL and OPG in the necrotizing pulp were not investigated. Human studies (N = 13) showed a steady-state expression of OPG in the odontoblast layer. Conflicting results have been reported regarding the role of RANKL in active apical periodontitis, again because the correlation of this molecule with its inhibitor (OPG) was often disregarded. CONCLUSIONS: There is relatively little information currently available that would highlight the specific role of RANKL and OPG in pulpal and periapical disease. OPG may play a protective role against internal resorption, whilst an increased periapical RANKL/OPG ratio might indicate bone resorption

Subclass analysis of donor HLA-specific IgG in antibody-incompatible renal transplantation reveals a significant association of IgG4 with rejection and graft failure

Donor HLA-specific antibodies (DSAs) can cause rejection and graft loss after renal transplantation, but their levels measured by the current assays are not fully predictive of outcomes. We investigated whether IgG subclasses of DSA were associated with early rejection and graft failure. DSA levels were determined pretreatment, at the day of peak pan-IgG level and at 30 days post-transplantation in eighty HLA antibody-incompatible kidney transplant recipients using a modified microbead assay. Pretreatment IgG4 levels were predictive of acute antibody-mediated rejection (P = 0.003) in the first 30 days post-transplant. Pre-treatment presence of IgG4 DSA (P = 0.008) and day 30 IgG3 DSA (P = 0.03) was associated with poor graft survival. Multivariate regression analysis showed that in addition to pan-IgG levels, total IgG4 levels were an independent risk factor for early rejection when measured pretreatment, and the presence of pretreatment IgG4 DSA was also an independent risk factor for graft failure. Pretreatment IgG4 DSA levels correlated independently with higher risk of early rejection episodes and medium-term death-censored graft survival. Thus, pretreatment IgG4 DSA may be used as a biomarker to predict and risk stratify cases with higher levels of pan-IgG DSA in HLA antibody-incompatible transplantation. Further investigations are needed to confirm our results

Glucose-induced down regulation of thiamine transporters in the kidney proximal tubular epithelium produces thiamine insufficiency in diabetes

Increased renal clearance of thiamine (vitamin B1) occurs in experimental and clinical diabetes producing thiamine insufficiency mediated by impaired tubular re-uptake and linked to the development of diabetic nephropathy. We studied the mechanism of impaired renal re-uptake of thiamine in diabetes. Expression of thiamine transporter proteins THTR-1 and THTR-2 in normal human kidney sections examined by immunohistochemistry showed intense polarised staining of the apical, luminal membranes in proximal tubules for THTR-1 and THTR-2 of the cortex and uniform, diffuse staining throughout cells of the collecting duct for THTR-1 and THTR-2 of the medulla. Human primary proximal tubule epithelial cells were incubated with low and high glucose concentration, 5 and 26 mmol/l, respectively. In high glucose concentration there was decreased expression of THTR-1 and THTR-2 (transporter mRNA: −76% and −53% respectively, p<0.001; transporter protein −77% and −83% respectively, p<0.05), concomitant with decreased expression of transcription factor specificity protein-1. High glucose concentration also produced a 37% decrease in apical to basolateral transport of thiamine transport across cell monolayers. Intensification of glycemic control corrected increased fractional excretion of thiamine in experimental diabetes. We conclude that glucose-induced decreased expression of thiamine transporters in the tubular epithelium may mediate renal mishandling of thiamine in diabetes. This is a novel mechanism of thiamine insufficiency linked to diabetic nephropathy

Early psychological intervention in accidentally injured children ages 2–16: a randomized controlled trial

Background: Road traffic accidents (RTA) and burns are frequent events in children. Although many children recover spontaneously, a considerable number develop long-term psychological sequelae. Evidence on early psychological interventions to prevent such long-term problems is still scarce for school-age children and completely lacking for pre-school children. Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of an early two-session cognitive-behavioral intervention in 108 children ages 2–16 after RTAs and burns. Methods: Children assessed at risk for the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were randomly assigned to either a control group offered treatment as usual or an intervention group. Primary outcomes were PTSD, behavioral problems, and depression symptoms. Baseline and blinded 3- and 6-month follow-up assessments were conducted. Results: In pre-school children, no intervention effects were found. School-age children in the intervention group exhibited significantly fewer internalizing problems at 3-month follow-up relative to controls and a borderline significant time-by-group effect for PTSD intrusion symptoms was found (p=0.06). Conclusions: This is the first study examining the efficacy of an indicated, early psychological intervention among both school-age and pre-school-age children. Because the intervention was ineffective for young children, no evidence-based practice can currently be suggested. Given that parents of pre-school children perceived the intervention as helpful, brief counseling of parents in terms of psychoeducation and training in coping skills still should be provided by clinicians, despite the current lack of evidence. To prevent trauma-related disorders in school-age children, the intervention might be used in a step-wise manner, where only children at risk for long-term psychological maladjustment are provided with psychological support