White matter hyperintensities and within-person variability in community-dwelling adults aged 60–64 years

Estimates of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) derived from T2-weighted MRI were investigated in relation to cognitive performance in 469 healthy community-dwelling adults aged 60–64 years. Frontal lobe WMH but not WMH from other brain regions (temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes, anterior and posterior horn, periventricular body) were associated with elevated within-person reaction time (RT) variability (trial to trial fluctuations in RT performance) but not performance on several other cognitive tasks including psychomotor speed, memory, and global cognition. The findings are consistent with the view that elevated within-person variability is related to neurobiological disturbance, and that attentional mechanisms supported by the frontal cortex play a key role in this type of variability

Analisis USAhatani dan Pemasaran Ubi Kayu dan Ubi Jalar di Simalungun (Studi Kasus: Desa Pematang Kerasaan Rejo Kecamatan Bandar dan Kelurahan Tiga Runggu Kecamatan Purba)

Penentuan daerah penelitian dilakukan secara purposive, simple random sampling. Metode analisis yang digunakan adalah analisis data deskriptif, fungsi produksi regresi berganda, uji beda rata-rata serta analisis BEP. Hasil penelitian menyimpulkan produktivitas ubi jalar di daerah penelitian lebih rendah dari produktivitas ubi jalar di Kabupaten Karo namun lebih tinggi dari produktivitas ubi jalar hasil penelitian BPTP Sumut. Produktivitas ubi kayu di daerah penelitian lebih tinggi dari produktivitas ubi kayu di Kabupaten Simalungun namun lebih rendah dari produktivitas ubi kayu hasil penelitian BPTP Sumut; Faktor produksi yang berpengaruh nyata terhadap produksi ubi jalar adalah penggunaan bibit dan herbisida sedangkan pada USAhatani ubi kayu, faktor produksi yang berpengaruh nyata adalah penggunaan bibit, herbisida dan TK; Tidak terdapat perbedaan rata-rata pendapatan USAhatani ubi jalar dengan pendapatan USAhatani ubi kayu dalam satu musim tanam; Jumlah produksi dan harga jual berpengaruh terhadap pendapatan USAhatani baik pada USAhatani ubi jalar maupun USAhatani ubi kayu; dan pemasaran ubi jalar di daerah penelitian belum efisien dan pemasaran ubi kayu di daerah penelitian belum efisien

Evaluation of environmental design strategies for university buildings

This paper examines the performance of environmental strategies in seven recently constructed or refurbished university buildings in the UK. These buildings contain a range of administrative spaces, classrooms, libraries and studios, reflecting their often complex, multi-use, heterogeneous nature. The key features of each environmental strategy are described (including passive, mixed-mode or active systems), in the context of the occupants and spaces they serve and the level of interaction that they afford. Energy performance and occupant thermal comfort (assessed by user surveys) are analysed and compared with studies of other non-domestic buildings, which have typically focused on more predictable single administrative uses (e.g. government offices), and unusually effective operation scenarios (e.g. continuous monitoring by expert building managers). The paper concludes by examining two of the case studies that reflect an increasingly common model of ‘flexible’ environmental design in more detail, identifying key features of the strategies for each building that have had a significant impact on their performance. The design assumptions leading to these features will be explored, and key lessons identified, contributing towards the development of a more robust evidential basis for choosing appropriate environmental strategies for university and other non-domestic buildings in the UK

The Effects of Air and Underwater Blast on Composite Sandwich Panels and Tubular Laminate Structures

The resistance of glass-fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) sandwich panels and laminate tubes to blast in air and underwater environments has been studied. Procedures for monitoring the structural response of such materials during blast events have been devised. High-speed photography was employed during the air-blast loading of GFRP sandwich panels, in conjunction with digital image correlation (DIC), to monitor the deformation of these structures under shock loading. Failure mechanisms have been revealed by using DIC and confirmed in post-test sectioning. Strain gauges were used to monitor the structural response of similar sandwich materials and GFRP tubular laminates during underwater shocks. The effect of the backing medium (air or water) of the target facing the shock has been identified during these studies. Mechanisms of failure have been established such as core crushing, skin/core cracking, delamination and fibre breakage. Strain gauge data supported the mechanisms for such damage. These studies were part of a research programme sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) investigating blast loading of composite naval structures. The full-scale experimental results presented here will aid and assist in the development of analytical and computational models. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of support and boundary conditions with regards to blast resistant design

An experimental methodology to characterise post-necking behaviour and quantify ductile damage accumulation in isotropic materials

The development of ductile damage, that occurs beyond the point of necking in a tensile test, can be difficult to quantify. An experimental methodology has been developed to accurately characterise the post-necking deformation response of a material through continuous monitoring of the specimens shape up until rupture. By studying the evolution of the neck geometry, the correct values of the local stress and strain have been determined in samples of grade 304L stainless steel and C110 copper. Notched bar specimens of various notch acuities were examined enabling the effects of stress triaxiality on ductile fracture to be determined. The methodology developed has provided a robust framework for macroscopic measurements of ductile damage during the necking process. To characterise the material degradation process, the elastic modulus reduction method was employed on hourglass-shaped specimens of the same materials. Stiffness degradation was measured using a small gauge extensometer during uninterrupted tensile tests with partial elastic unloadings. A metallographic study was conducted on progressively damaged specimens in order to validate the macroscopic damage measurements. A new non-linear ductile damage accumulation law has been developed and calibrated, which provides an advanced representation of the experimental results, and a significant improvement compared to linear accumulation models frequently employed. This realistic modelling approach considers the degradation of the material when it has undergone severe plastic deformation, and provides a more accurate representation of the near failure behaviour by considering the effects of stress triaxiality. The methodology provides accurate data for damage model development and calibration, to improve the predictions of remnant life from ductile damage in engineering components

The Comparison of Various Foam Polymer Types in Composite Sandwich Panels Subjected to Full Scale Air Blast Loading

Full scale air blast testing has been performed on a range of polymeric foam composite panels. These panels employed glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) face-sheets with different polymer foam cores, namely: Styrene acrylonitrile (SAN); Polyvinylchloride (PVC) and Polymethacrylimide (PMI). The three sandwich panels were all subjected to 100 kg TNT equivalent blast loading at a stand-off distance of 15 m, and the responses of the panels were measured using Digital Image Correlation (DIC). The extent of damage in the sandwich panels was then inspected via post-blast sectioning, and it was found that the SAN core suffered the least damage, and the PMI suffered the most. The DIC showed that the deflection of the SAN core sandwich panel was much less than the other two foam polymer cores, due to less damage meaning a greater stiffness was retained. All blast research to date is part of a programme sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR)

Genomic evidence of pre-invasive clonal expansion, dispersal and progression in bronchial dysplasia

The term ‘field cancerization’ is used to describe an epithelial surface that has a propensity to develop cancerous lesions, and in the case of the aerodigestive tract this is often as a result of chronic exposure to carcinogens in cigarette smoke 1, 2. The clinical endpoint is the development of multiple tumours, either simultaneously or sequentially in the same epithelial surface. The mechanisms underlying this process remain unclear; one possible explanation is that the epithelium is colonized by a clonal population of cells that are at increased risk of progression to cancer. We now address this possibility in a short case series, using individual genomic events as molecular biomarkers of clonality. In squamous lung cancer the most common genomic aberration is 3q amplification. We use a digital PCR technique to assess the clonal relationships between multiple biopsies in a longitudinal bronchoscopic study, using amplicon boundaries as markers of clonality. We demonstrate that clonality can readily be defined by these analyses and confirm that field cancerization occurs at a pre-invasive stage and that pre-invasive lesions and subsequent cancers are clonally related. We show that while the amplicon boundaries can be shared between different biopsies, the degree of 3q amplification and the internal structure of the 3q amplicon varies from lesion to lesion. Finally, in this small cohort, the degree of 3q amplification corresponds to clinical progression. Copyright © 2011 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd