Placental growth factor and its potential role in diabetic retinopathy and other ocular neovascular diseases

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Three-dimensional jamming and flows of soft glassy materials

Various disordered dense systems such as foams, gels, emulsions and colloidal suspensions, exhibit a jamming transition from a liquid state (they flow) to a solid state below a yield stress. Their structure, thoroughly studied with powerful means of 3D characterization, exhibits some analogy with that of glasses which led to call them soft glassy materials. However, despite its importance for geophysical and industrial applications, their rheological behavior, and its microscopic origin, is still poorly known, in particular because of its nonlinear nature. Here we show from two original experiments that a simple 3D continuum description of the behaviour of soft glassy materials can be built. We first show that when a flow is imposed in some direction there is no yield resistance to a secondary flow: these systems are always unjammed simultaneously in all directions of space. The 3D jamming criterion appears to be the plasticity criterion encountered in most solids. We also find that they behave as simple liquids in the direction orthogonal to that of the main flow; their viscosity is inversely proportional to the main flow shear rate, as a signature of shear-induced structural relaxation, in close similarity with the structural relaxations driven by temperature and density in other glassy systems.Comment: http://www.nature.com/nmat/journal/v9/n2/abs/nmat2615.htm

Developing Geopolymer Concrete by Using Ferronickel Slag and Ground-Granulated Blast-Furnace Slag

Geopolymer concrete is gaining recognition as an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional cement-based materials, offering potential solutions for reducing the carbon emissions of the construction industry. This study aims to develop GGBFS–FNS geopolymers utilising ferronickel slag (FNS) and ground-granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS). Ground FNS (GFNS) is a potential candidate for replacing fly ash in geopolymers. This research aims to develop for the first time a GGBFS–FNS alkali-activated concrete. Numerous trials were conducted including different GGBFS–FNS blend percentages, several chemical admixtures and varying activator concentrations to develop the optimal binder mix composition. The effects of different chemical admixtures on the properties of geopolymer pastes, mortars, and concretes were investigated. The study evaluated setting time, compressive strength, shrinkage, and physical and durability properties. The results indicate that conventional admixtures have limited impact on the setting time, while increasing the water/solid ratio and decreasing the GGBFS content could extend the initial and final setting times. The presence of FNS aggregate could improve the compressive strength of geopolymer mortars. The water absorber admixture was highly effective in reducing shrinkage and increasing chloride diffusion resistance. The geopolymer mix containing 50 wt.% GFNS and 50 wt.% GGBFS with the presence of the water absorber admixture presented high chloride diffusion resistance, non-reactivity to the alkali–silica reaction and high sulphate resistance. Overall, the GGBFS–FNS geopolymers exhibited promising potential for engineering applications as an environmentally friendly material, particularly in aggressive environments

CHLORIDE DIFFUSION RESISTANCE OF LIMESTONE CALCINED CLAY CEMENT (LC3) CONCRETE BASED ON CALCINED CLAY REACTIVITY

This study investigated the chloride diffusion resistance of limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) concrete depending on the calcined clay reactivity. Two calcined clays with different reactivity were used to fabricate LC3 concretes. The replacement rate of calcined clay and limestone in binder was adjusted based on the reactivity in order to achieve similar compressive strength after 28 days of curing. The chloride diffusion resistance of LC3 concretes was evaluated using the bulk diffusion test protocol according to NT BUILD 443 (or ASTM C1556). Both LC3 concretes outperformed the reference general purpose cement concrete with significantly lower chloride diffusion coefficients. The chloride diffusion coefficients of the two LC3 concretes were similar despite the different replacement rates of calcined clay and limestone due to different calcined clay’s reactivity. This result indicates that LC3 concrete chloride diffusion resistance is only marginally dependent on the type of calcined clay used if similar compressive strength can be obtained within the LC3 concretes by using an optimum replacement rate

Implementing the effect of geopolymer concrete pore solution pH in the standard rapid migration test NT Build 492 protocol

Abstract This research investigates the impact of the pore solution pH values on chloride content at the colour change boundary determined according to the standard rapid migration test (NT Build 492), with a focus on alkali-activated materials, so-called geopolymer. The study investigates a range of geopolymer formulations using various proportions of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), fly ash, and calcined clay, alongside different activator concentrations, to examine their influence on the pH value of the pore solution. Findings from this study suggest that the pH value of the pore solution greatly influence in the chloride ion concentration at the colour change boundary, which should be accounted for in the calculation of the non-steady-state migration coefficients (Dnssm). It is noted that mixtures with higher GGBFS content exhibit higher pH values than mixtures containing fly ash or calcined clay, impacting the Dnssm. The results advocate for modifications to the standard NT Build 492 protocol to enhance its applicability and accuracy for geopolymer materials, emphasizing the importance of using revised Dnssm values calculated considering the unique properties of geopolymer concrete for more durability assessment.</jats:p

Safety and Efficacy of Adalimumab in Patients with Noninfectious Uveitis in an Ongoing Open-Label Study: VISUAL III

PURPOSE: To evaluate safety and efficacy of adalimumab in patients with noninfectious intermediate, posterior, or panuveitis. DESIGN: Phase 3, open-label, multicenter clinical trial extension (VISUAL III). PARTICIPANTS: Adults meeting treatment failure (TF) criteria or who completed VISUAL I or II (phase 3, randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled) without TF. METHODS: Patients received adalimumab 40 mg every other week. Interim follow-up data were described from VISUAL III weeks 0 through 78. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Disease quiescence, steroid-free quiescence, active inflammatory chorioretinal/retinal vascular lesions, anterior chamber cell grade, vitreous haze grade, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and corticosteroid dose. Binary data were reported using nonresponder imputation (NRI), continuous data using last observation carried forward and as-observed analysis, and corticosteroid dose using observed-case analysis. Adverse events (AEs) were reported from first adalimumab dose in VISUAL III through interim cutoff. RESULTS: Of 424 patients enrolled, 371 were included in intent-to-treat analysis. At study entry, 242 of 371 (65%) patients had active uveitis; 60% (145/242, NRI) achieved quiescence at week 78, and 66% (95/143, as-observed) of those were corticosteroid free. At study entry, 129 of 371 (35%) patients had inactive uveitis; 74% (96/129, NRI) achieved quiescence at week 78, and 93% (89/96, as-observed) of those were corticosteroid free. Inflammatory lesions, anterior chamber grade, and vitreous haze grade showed initial improvement followed by decline in patients with active uveitis and remained stable in patients with inactive uveitis. BCVA improved in patients with active uveitis from weeks 0 to 78 (0.27 to 0.14 logMAR; left and right eyes; as-observed) and remained stable in patients with inactive uveitis. Mean corticosteroid dose decreased from 13.6 mg/day (week 0) to 2.6 mg/day (week 78) in patients with active uveitis and remained stable in those with inactive uveitis (1.5-1.2 mg/day). AEs (424 events/100 patient-years) and serious AEs (16.5 events/100 patient-years) were comparable with previous VISUAL trials. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with active uveitis at study entry who received adalimumab therapy were likely to achieve quiescence, improve visual acuity, and reduce their daily uveitis-related systemic corticosteroid use. Most patients with inactive uveitis at study entry sustained quiescence without a systemic corticosteroid dose increase. No new safety signals were identified

Graph-based person signature for person re-identifications

The task of person re-identification (ReID) is to match images of the same person over multiple non-overlapping camera views. Due to the variations in visual factors, previous works have investigated how the person identity, body parts, and attributes benefit the person ReID problem. However, the correlations between attributes, body parts, and within each attribute are not fully utilized. In this paper, we propose a new method to effectively aggregate detailed person descriptions (attributes labels) and visual features (body parts and global features) into a graph, namely Graph-based Person Signature, and utilize Graph Convolutional Networks to learn the topological structure of the visual signature of a person. The graph is integrated into a multi-branch multi-task framework for person re-identification. The extensive experiments are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed approach on two large-scale datasets, including Market-1501 and DukeMTMC-ReID. Our approach achieves competitive results among the state of the art and outperforms other attribute-based or mask-guided methods. Source available at https://github.com/aioz-ai/CVPRW21_GPS

Fracture behaviour assessment of high-performance fibre-reinforced concrete at high strain rates using interpretable modelling approaches

High-performance fibre-reinforced concrete (HPFRC), a type of cementitious composite material known for its exceptional mechanical performance, has widespread applications in structures exposed to severe dynamic loading conditions. However, understanding nonlinear HPFRC fracture behaviour, particularly under high strain rates, remains challenging given the complexities of assessment procedures and cost-intensive nature of experiments. This study presents an interpretable framework for modelling and analysing HPFRC fracture strength at high strain rates. A wide range of machine learning methods, including ensemble techniques, were employed to capture multivariate effects of eight essential input features (e.g., mortar compressive strength, fibre physical and mechanical properties, cross-sectional area, and strain rate) on fracture strength response. To assess the derived models, a novel evaluation procedure was proposed involving a data-based analysis, employing established metrics (i.e., coefficient of determination, root mean squared error, and mean absolute error via K-fold cross-validation) and a domain experts-involved evaluation utilising global sensitivity analysis to discern first-order and higher-order interactions among input factors. The proposed approach efficiently yielded both quantitative and qualitative insights into crucial input factors governing HPFRC fracture strength with limited experimental data. The obtained findings highlight the significance of multivariate effects, such as the interaction between strain rate and fibre tensile strength, and between fibre volume and fibre diameter, on fracture behaviour. The proposed interpretable framework aims to provide a powerful tool for proactive material failure analysis by understanding fracture behaviour and identifying potential weak and strong interactions among input factors of HPFRC-based samples. Moreover, the utilisation of the proposed approach enables researchers and civil engineers to efficiently focus on the most critical input parameters during the early design stage and ensuring the structural integrity and safety of HPFRC-based constructions