The interaction between clothing and air weapon pellets

Comparatively few studies have been carried out on air weapon injuries yet there are significant number of injuries and fatalities caused by these low power weapons because of their availability and the public perception that because they need no licence they are assumed to be safe. In this study ballistic gel was tested by Bloom and rupture tests to check on consistency of production. Two series of tests were carried out firing into unclothed gel blocks and blocks loosely covered by different items of clothing to simulate attire (tee shirt, jeans, fleece, and jacket).The damage to the clothing caused by different shaped pellets when fired at different ranges was examined. The apparent hole size was affected by the shape of pellet (round, pointed, flat and hollow point) and whether damage was predominantly caused by pushing yarn to one side or by laceration of the yarn through cutting or tearing.The study also compared penetration into clothed gel and unclothed gel under identical conditions, and loose clothing greatly reduced penetration. With loose clothing at 9.1 m range clothing reduced penetration to 50–70% of the penetration of unclothed gel but at 18.3 m range only 7 out of 36 shots penetrated the gel. This cannot be accounted for by the energy loss at the longer range (3–7% reduction from 9.1 m to 18.3 m range in unclothed gels) and it is suggested that impulse may have a role to play.Shots that did not penetrate the gel were used to estimate the possible stopping time for the pellet (around 75 μs) and force (1700 N) or stress (100 MPa) required to bring the pellet to a halt.Even with these low energy projectiles, cloth fibres were entrained in the gel showing the potential for penetration of the body and subsequent infection

Depth-averaged simulation of flows in asymmetric compound channels with smooth and rough narrow floodplains

Depth-averaged hydrodynamic models are predominantly used in numerical simulations of compound channel flows. One of the most popular methods for the depth-averaged simulation is Shiono and Knight method (SKM). This method accounts for the effects of bed friction, lateral turbulence and secondary flows, via three key parameters f, λ and Γ, respectively. The conventional expressions that are developed to calibrate these parameters are generally based on experiments in compound channels with wide floodplains. In this study, the application of SKM to an asymmetric compound channel with a narrow floodplain is examined in terms of the calibration requirements. Two sets of experiments that have smooth and rough floodplains are conducted and then simulated by SKM. In smooth floodplain cases, the results reveal that SKM model with the conventional calibration expressions of f, λ and Г is reasonably capable of predicting the distributions of depth-averaged velocity and boundary shear stress in the main channel. However, in the floodplain region, the expressions recommended for calibrating Г need to be modified to improve the predicted results in that region. In cases of the rough floodplain, the results indicate that only the values of λ in the main channel need to be changed from its conventional values to improve the predictions

Plastic Deformation in Laser-Induced Shock Compression of Monocrystalline Copper

Copper monocrystals were subjected to shock compression at pressures of 10–60 GPa by a short (3 ns initial) duration laser pulse. Transmission electron microscopy revealed features consistent with previous observations of shock-compressed copper, albeit at pulse durations in the µs regime. The results suggest that the defect structure is generated at the shock front. A mechanism for dislocation generation is presented, providing a realistic prediction of dislocation density as a function of pressure. The threshold stress for deformation twinning in shock compression is calculated from the constitutive equations for slip, twinning, and the Swegle-Grady relationship

Genetic and Neural Modularity Underlie the Evolution of Schooling Behavior in Threespine Sticklebacks

SummaryAlthough descriptions of striking diversity in animal behavior are plentiful, little is known about the mechanisms by which behaviors change and evolve between groups. To fully understand behavioral evolution, it will be necessary to identify the genetic mechanisms that mediate behavioral change in a natural context [1–3]. Genetic analysis of behavior can also reveal associations between behavior and morphological or neural phenotypes, providing insight into the proximate mechanisms that control behavior. Relatively few studies to date have successfully identified genes or genomic regions that contribute to behavioral variation among natural populations or species [2], particularly in vertebrates [4–8]. Here, we apply genetic approaches to dissect a complex social behavior that has long fascinated biologists, schooling behavior [9–13]. We performed quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of schooling in an F2 intercross between strongly schooling marine and weakly schooling benthic sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and found that distinct genetic modules control different aspects of schooling behavior. Two key components of the behavior, tendency to school and body position when schooling, are uncorrelated in hybrids and map to different genomic regions. Our results further point to a genetic link between one behavioral component, schooling position, and variation in the neurosensory lateral line

Experimental Status of Neutrino Physics

After a fascinating phase of discoveries, neutrino physics still has a few mysteries such as the absolute mass scale, the mass hierarchy, the existence of CP violation in the lepton sector and the existence of right-handed neutrinos. It is also entering a phase of precision measurements. This is what motivates the NUFACT 11 conference which prepares the future of long baseline neutrino experiments. In this paper, we report the status of experimental neutrino physics. We focus mainly on absolute mass measurements, oscillation parameters and future plans for oscillation experiments

Covalent co-assembly between resilin-like polypeptide and peptide amphiphile into hydrogels with controlled nanostructure and improved mechanical properties

Covalent co-assembly holds great promise for the fabrication of hydrogels with controllable nanostructure, versatile chemical composition, and enhanced mechanical properties given its relative simplicity, high efficiency, and bond stability. This report describes our approach to designing functional multicomponent hydrogels based on photo-induced chemical interactions between an acrylamide-functionalized resilin-like polypeptide (RLP) and a peptide amphiphile (PA). Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and amplitude sweep rheology were used to demonstrate that the co-assembled hydrogel systems acquired distinct structural conformations, tunable nanostructures, and enhanced elasticity in a PA concentration-dependent manner. We envisage the use of these materials in numerous biomedical applications such as controlled drug release systems, microfluidic devices, and scaffolds for tissue engineering

MicroRNA-125a and -b inhibit A20 and MAVS to promote inflammation and impair antiviral response in COPD

Influenza A virus (IAV) infections lead to severe inflammation in the airways. Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) characteristically have exaggerated airway inflammation and are more susceptible to infections with severe symptoms and increased mortality. The mechanisms that control inflammation during IAV infection and the mechanisms of immune dysregulation in COPD are unclear. We found that IAV infections lead to increased inflammatory and antiviral responses in primary bronchial epithelial cells (pBECs) from healthy nonsmoking and smoking subjects. In pBECs from COPD patients, infections resulted in exaggerated inflammatory but deficient antiviral responses. A20 is an important negative regulator of NF-κB-mediated inflammatory but not antiviral responses, and A20 expression was reduced in COPD. IAV infection increased the expression of miR-125a or -b, which directly reduced the expression of A20 and mitochondrial antiviral signaling (MAVS), and caused exaggerated inflammation and impaired antiviral responses. These events were replicated in vivo in a mouse model of experimental COPD. Thus, miR-125a or -b and A20 may be targeted therapeutically to inhibit excessive inflammatory responses and enhance antiviral immunity in IAV infections and in COPD

The complex interplay between endoplasmic reticulum stress and the NLRP3 inflammasome: a potential therapeutic target for inflammatory disorders.

Inflammation is the result of a complex network of cellular and molecular interactions and mechanisms that facilitate immune protection against intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli, particularly pathogens, to maintain homeostasis and promote tissue healing. However, dysregulation in the immune system elicits excess/abnormal inflammation resulting in unintended tissue damage and causes major inflammatory diseases including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, atherosclerosis, inflammatory bowel diseases, sarcoidosis and rheumatoid arthritis. It is now widely accepted that both endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and inflammasomes play critical roles in activating inflammatory signalling cascades. Notably, evidence is mounting for the involvement of ER stress in exacerbating inflammasome-induced inflammatory cascades, which may provide a new axis for therapeutic targeting in a range of inflammatory disorders. Here, we comprehensively review the roles, mechanisms and interactions of both ER stress and inflammasomes, as well as their interconnected relationships in inflammatory signalling cascades. We also discuss novel therapeutic strategies that are being developed to treat ER stress- and inflammasome-related inflammatory disorders