Mechanical Property Evaluation of Additively Manufactured Materials across a Wide Temperature Range

Additive manufacturing (also called 3d printing) has transitioned from a prototyping-only technology to a technology that is able to create usable parts with complex geometries. 3D printed parts are beginning to be used across all areas of engineering, such as biomedical, aerospace, automobile and many more. Typically, the term “3D printing” refers to layer by layer deposition of polymer materials, while the term “additive manufacturing” refers to layer by layer metal deposition. Conventional manufacturing, or substrative manufacturing, has several main problems that additive manufacturing can help overcome, such as high cost for low volume production, inability to create very complex geometries, and wasted material. While some industries feel completely comfortable using additively manufactured parts for production purposes, others are still waiting for more information to be certain the parts will work for their applications. One of the missing pieces of information is how well parts function at temperatures other than room temperature. In this study, the mechanical properties of Polylactic acid (PLA), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (CFPET G), and GR-Cop – 42 (Cu-4 wt.% Cr, 2 wt.% Nb) will be experimentally tested at a variety of temperatures. The purpose of study it to test materials from low to high temperatures ranging from – 150°C to 600°C. PLA and ABS are tested from -150° C to room temperature for their applications as weather equipment’s at remote locations. CF PETG is tested at room temperature and GR-Cop -42 at 400°C and 600°C. Mechanical properties to be tested for are ABS, PLA, and CF – PETG are Tensile, Compression, Impact, Flex, and tensile and fatigue

Haridustulemuste ja õpimotivatsiooni seos riigi majandusnäitajatega 29 Euroopa riigi näitel

Käesolevas seminaritöös uuriti, kas ja mil määral on erinevates riikides omavahel seotud õpilaste haridustulemused ja õpimotivatsioon ning kas ja kui suurt mõju väga heade tulemuste saavutamisel omab riigipoolne panus haridussüsteemi. Töös on kasutatud OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) poolt läbiviidud PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) 2009. aasta uuringu 29 Euroopa riigi andmeid ning Maailmapanga andmebaasi. Viidi läbi kahe muutujaga korrelatiivne uuring. Lisaks kasutati andmete lähendamiseks piirangule lähenevat kasvavat eksponentfunktsiooni ja lineaarset lähendust. Leiti, et eelpool nimetatud muutujad on omavahel positiivses korrelatsioonis. Käesolev uuring rõhutab hea hariduse olulisust riigi arengu puhul ja ka vastupidi, riigi investeeringud haridussektorisse on olulised õpilaste haridustulemuste kujunemisel. Tuleb luua head tingimused hariduse omandamiseks ning selleks peaks ka riik oma inimestesse investeerima ja seda läbi haridussektori toetuse.http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b2653913~S1*es

Early seedling growth affected by CuSO4 and its combination with PEG 6000 in maize

Several abiotic stress factors are faced by the plants in nature, including metal exposure and water deficit condition. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of copper and its combination with water deficit, on growth and anatomical characteristics of Zea mays L. (maize) cv. Ganga safed-2 seedlings. Seeds were treated with CuSO4 (0-1000µM) for inducing Cu stress, PEG 6000 (0-10%) for inducing water deficit stress and their combination for combined stress for 5 days. Germination %, growth parameters, % phytotoxicity, and root anatomical characteristics were analyzed. Treatment of maize seeds with 0-1000µM CuSO4 significantly reduced almost all the growth parameters, except germination %. Root growth was inhibited significantly at 100µM and higher concentrations of CuSO4, however, for shoot growth, ?300µM are inhibitory. Germination percentage was not affected by the supplementation of Cu, indicating the tolerant nature of Ganga safed-2 maize genotype at germination stage. Treatment with Cu (?300µM) and PEG 6000 (10%), decreased the growth of maize seedlings with prominent effect on root by Cu and on the shoot by 10% PEG. Anatomical modifications in root were noticed with both the stresses, individually and in combination

Variations in disability and quality of life with age and sex between eight Lower and Middle Income Countries:data from the INDEPTH WHO-SAGE collaboration

Background: Disability and quality of life are key outcomes for older people. Little is known about how these measures vary with age and gender across lower income and middle-income countries; such information is necessary to tailor health and social care policy to promote healthy ageing and minimise disability. Methods: We analysed data from participants aged 50 years and over from health and demographic surveillance system sites of the International Network for the Demographic Evaluation of Populations and their Health Network in Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Vietnam, India, Indonesia and Bangladesh, using an abbreviated version of the WHO Study on global AGEing survey instrument. We used the eight-item WHO Quality of Life (WHOQoL) tool to measure quality of life and theWHO Disability Assessment Schedule, version 2 (WHODAS-II) tool to measure disability. We collected selected health status measures via the survey instrument and collected demographic and socioeconomic data from linked surveillance site information. We performed regression analyses to quantify differences between countries in the relationship between age, gender and both quality of life and disability, and we used anchoring vignettes to account for differences in interpretation of disability severity. Results: We included 43 935 individuals in the analysis. Mean age was 63.7 years (SD 9.7) and 24 434 (55.6%) were women. In unadjusted analyses across all countries, WHOQoL scores worsened by 0.13 points (95% CI 0.12 to 0.14) per year increase in age and WHODAS scores worsened by 0.60 points (95% CI 0.57 to 0.64). WHODAS-II and WHOQoL scores varied markedly between countries, as did the gradient of scores with increasing age. In regression analyses, differences were not fully explained by age, socioeconomic status, marital status, education or health factors. Differences in disability scores between countries were not explained by differences in anchoring vignette responses. Conclusions: The relationship between age, sex and both disability and quality of life varies between countries. The findings may guide tailoring of interventions to individual country needs, although these associations require further study

In Vivo Consequences of Disrupting SH3-Mediated Interactions of the Inducible T-Cell Kinase

ITK-SH3-mediated interactions, both with exogenous ligands and via intermolecular self-association with ITK-SH2, have been shown to be important for regulation of ITK activity. The biological significance of these competing SH3 interactions is not completely understood. A mutant of ITK where substitution of the SH3 domain with that of the related kinase BTK (ITK-BTK(SH3)) was used to disrupt intermolecular self-association of ITK while maintaining canonical binding to exogenous ligands such as SLP-76. ITK-BTK(SH3) displays reduced association with SLP-76 leading to inefficient transphosphorylation, reduced phosphorylation of PLCγ1, and diminished Th2 cytokine production. In contrast, ITK-BTK(SH3) displays no defect in its localization to the T-cell-APC contact site. Another mutation, Y511F, in the activation loop of ITK, impairs ITK activation. T cells expressing ITK-Y511F display defective phosphorylation of ITK and its downstream target PLCγ1, as well as significant inhibition of Th2 cytokines. In contrast, the inducible localization of ITK-Y511F to the T cell-APC contact site and its association with SLP-76 are not affected. The presented data lend further support to the hypothesis that precise interactions between ITK and its signaling partners are required to support ITK signaling downstream of the TCR

Medium-term health and social outcomes in adolescents following sexual assault: a prospective mixed-methods cohort study

PURPOSE: To describe medium-term physical and mental health and social outcomes following adolescent sexual assault, and examine users’ perceived needs and experiences. METHOD: Longitudinal, mixed methods cohort study of adolescents aged 13–17 years recruited within 6 weeks of sexual assault (study entry) and followed to study end, 13–15 months post-assault. RESULTS: 75/141 participants were followed to study end (53% retention; 71 females) and 19 completed an in-depth qualitative interview. Despite many participants accessing support services, 54%, 59% and 72% remained at risk for depressive, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders 13–15 months post-assault. Physical symptoms were reported more frequently. Persistent (> 30 days) absence from school doubled between study entry and end, from 22 to 47%. Enduring mental ill-health and disengagement from education/employment were associated with psychosocial risk factors rather than assault characteristics. Qualitative data suggested inter-relationships between mental ill-health, physical health problems and disengagement from school, and poor understanding from schools regarding how to support young people post-assault. Baseline levels of smoking, alcohol and ever drug use were high and increased during the study period (only significantly for alcohol use). CONCLUSION: Adolescents presenting after sexual assault have high levels of vulnerability over a year post-assault. Many remain at risk for mental health disorders, highlighting the need for specialist intervention and ongoing support. A key concern for young people is disruption to their education. Multi-faceted support is needed to prevent social exclusion and further widening of health inequalities in this population, and to support young people in their immediate and long-term recovery

Validating a GPS-based approach to detect health facility visits against maternal response to prompted recall survey

INTRODUCTION: Common approaches to measure health behaviors rely on participant responses and are subject to bias. Technology-based alternatives, particularly using GPS, address these biases while opening new channels for research. This study describes the development and implementation of a GPS-based approach to detect health facility visits in rural Pune district, India. METHODS: Participants were mothers of under-five year old children within the Vadu Demographic Surveillance area. Participants received GPS-enabled smartphones pre-installed with a location-aware application to continuously record and transmit participant location data to a central server. Data were analyzed to identify health facility visits according to a parameter-based approach, optimal thresholds of which were calibrated through a simulation exercise. Lists of GPS-detected health facility visits were generated at each of six follow-up home visits and reviewed with participants through prompted recall survey, confirming visits which were correctly identified. Detected visits were analyzed using logistic regression to explore factors associated with the identification of false positive GPS-detected visits. RESULTS: We enrolled 200 participants and completed 1098 follow-up visits over the six-month study period. Prompted recall surveys were completed for 694 follow-up visits with one or more GPS-detected health facility visits. While the approach performed well during calibration (positive predictive value (PPV) 78%), performance was poor when applied to participant data. Only 440 of 22 251 detected visits were confirmed (PPV 2%). False positives increased as participants spent more time in areas of high health facility density (odds ratio (OR) = 2.29, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.62-3.25). Visits detected at facilities other than hospitals and clinics were also more likely to be false positives (OR = 2.78, 95% CI = 1.65-4.67) as were visits detected to facilities nearby participant homes, with the likelihood decreasing as distance increased (OR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.82-0.97). Visit duration was not associated with confirmation status. CONCLUSIONS: The optimal parameter combination for health facility visits simulated by field workers substantially overestimated health visits from participant GPS data. This study provides useful insights into the challenges in detecting health facility visits where providers are numerous, highly clustered within urban centers and located near residential areas of the population which they serve