Study of the influence of notch radii and temperature on the probability of failure: A methodology to perform a combined assessment

The fracture assessment of notched components based on cracked components approaches leads to over‐conservative failure predictions. In the research literature, several approaches are proposed to overcome this problem using an apparent fracture toughness, . Nevertheless, most of these approaches are based on deterministic assumptions despite the large and variable scatter exhibited by for different notch radii (ρ) or temperatures (T). This paper proposes a methodology for deriving a probabilistic field including the effect of temperature on the failure of notched components. First, the theory of critical distances is applied to transform each apparent fracture toughness into the equivalent fracture toughness for ρ = 0. Then, the temperature is supposed to act as a scale effect in the Weibull cumulative distribution function of the equivalent fracture toughness, and the corresponding scale effect function is derived. Finally, the applicability of the proposed methodology is illustrated by an example using two ferritic‐pearlitic steels: S275JR and S355J2.     

The impacts of cattle access points on deposited sediment levels in headwater streams in Ireland

Cattle access to streams has been linked globally with degradation of stream water quality, driven largely by bank erosion and resultant instream, fine sediment deposition. The majority of evidence on such effects is however based in arid and semiarid regions of the United States and Australia, with few studies relating to cool temperate climates such as Northwest Europe. In this study, “Quorer” resuspendable sediment samples were taken from riffle geomorphic units upstream (control) and at two points downstream (pressure and recovery) of cattle access points in headwater streams in agricultural catchments in Ireland to assess levels of deposited stream sediment. Samples were taken in April/May (2016) prior to the grazing season and in October (2016) at the end of the grazing season. Sites in good‐high ecological status catchments and less than good ecological status catchments were included in the study. Higher levels of sediment were found downstream of cattle access points in both good‐high status and less than good status catchments; however, the impacts of access points were spatially confined to, in most cases, the area immediately downstream of the point of access. There was a strong correlation between deposited sediment mass and organic matter (OM) mass, with levels of OM increasing linearly with deposited sediment mass. Levels of measured sediment were negatively correlated with riparian habitat health (measured using a qualitative habitat assessment). The results of this study highlight the need for measures to prevent cattle access to headwater streams where access points can be many in order to manage local habitat quality and downstream water quality issues.     

A Versatile Theranostic Nanoemulsion for Architecture‐Dependent Multimodal Imaging and Dually Augmented Photodynamic Therapy

To design a clinically translatable nanomedicine for photodynamic theranostics, the ingredients should be carefully considered. A high content of nanocarriers may cause extra toxicity in metabolism, and multiple theranostic agents would complicate the preparation process. These issues would be of less concern if the nanocarrier itself has most of the theranostic functions. In this work, a poly(ethylene glycol)‐boron dipyrromethene amphiphile (PEG‐F₅₄‐BODIPY) with 54 fluorine‐19 (¹⁹F) is synthesized and employed to emulsify perfluorohexane (PFH) into a theranostic nanoemulsion (PFH@PEG‐F₅₄‐BODIPY). The as‐prepared PFH@PEG‐F₅₄‐BODIPY can perform architecture‐dependent fluorescence/photoacoustic/¹⁹F magnetic resonance multimodal imaging, providing more information about the in vivo structure evolution of nanomedicine. Importantly, this nanoemulsion significantly enhances the therapeutic effect of BODIPY through both the high oxygen dissolving capability and less self‐quenching of BODIPY molecules. More interestingly, PFH@PEG‐F₅₄‐BODIPY shows high level of tumor accumulation and long tumor retention time, allowing a repeated light irradiation after a single‐dose intravenous injection. The “all‐in‐one” photodynamic theranostic nanoemulsion has simple composition, remarkable theranostic efficacy, and novel treatment pattern, and thus presents an intriguing avenue to developing clinically translatable theranostic agents.     

On the capacity of the state‐dependent interference relay channel

This paper considers the state‐dependent interference relay channel (SIRC) in which one of the two users may operate as a secondary user and the relay has a noncausal access to the signals from both users. For discrete memoryless SIRC, we first establish the achievable rate region by carefully merging Han‐Kobayashi rate splitting encoding technique, superposition encoding, and Gelfand‐Pinsker encoding technique. Then, based on the achievable rate region that we derive, the capacity of the SIRC is established in many different scenarios including (a) the weak interference regime, (b) the strong interference regime, and (c) the very strong interference regime. This means that our capacity results contain all available known results in the literature. Next, the achievable rate region and the associated capacity results are also evaluated in the case of additive Gaussian noise. Additionally, many numerical examples are investigated to show the value of our theoretical derivations.     

Generalised multivariable supertwisting algorithm

The purpose of this paper is to present an extension of the generalised supertwisting algorithm (STA) to the multivariable framework. We begin by introducing an algorithm that may be deemed as a linear, quasicontinuous, or discontinuous multivariable system, depending on the functions that define them. For the class represented by such an algorithm we prove the robust, Lyapunov stability of the origin and characterise the perturbations that preserve its stability. In particular, when its vector field is discontinuous or quasicontinuous our algorithm is endowed with finite‐time stability. Due to its resemblance to the scalar case, we denote such finite‐time stable systems as generalised multivariable STA. Furthermore, the class of finite‐time stable systems comprise the currently available versions of STAs. To finalise, by means of simulation examples, we show that our proposed finite‐time stable algorithms are well suited for signals online differentiation and highlight their dynamical traits.     

The generalized discrete ‐centroid problem

The ‐centroid problem or leader–follower problem is generalized considering different customer choice rules where a customer may use facilities belonging to different firms, if the difference in travel distance (or time) is small enough. Assuming essential goods, some particular customer choice rules are analyzed. Linear programming formulations for the generalized ‐medianoid and ‐centroid problems are presented and an exact solution approach is applied. Some computational examples are included.     

Peracetic acid as a single endodontic irrigant: effects on microhardness,roughness and erosion of root canal dentin

The aim was to assess the effects of 1% peracetic acid (PAA) as a single endodontic irrigant on microhardness, roughness, and erosion of root canal dentin, compared with 2.5% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and with 2.5% NaOCl combined with 17% EDTA. Forty human, single‐rooted tooth hemisections were submitted to Knoop microhardness test, before and after the following irrigation protocols: PAA = 1% PAA; NaOCl = 2.5% NaOCl; NaOCl‐EDTA‐NaOCl = 2.5% NaOCl +17% EDTA +2.5% NaOCl; and SS = saline. Another 40 roots were instrumented, irrigated with the same protocols, and sectioned longitudinally. The roughness analysis was performed on the mesial section using a confocal laser scanning microscope, whereas erosion was analyzed on each third of the distal section, using a scanning electron microscope. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey post‐tests, and Kruskal‐Wallis and Dunn post‐tests (α = .05). The PAA and NaOCl‐EDTA‐NaOCl groups showed no significant differences (p > .05); both promoted reduction in microhardness and increase in roughness, compared with the NaOCl and SS groups (p < .05). NaOCl‐EDTA‐NaOCl promoted higher erosion in the cervical and middle thirds than the other groups (p < .05); there was no difference among PAA, NaOCl, and SS (p > .05). There was also no difference among the groups regarding the apical third (p > .05). PAA used as a single endodontic irrigant caused reduction in root canal dentin microhardness and increase in roughness in a similar way to NaOCl‐EDTA‐NaOCl; however, PAA caused less erosion than NaOCl‐EDTA‐NaOCl.     

Fabrication of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL)/poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC)/ethylene‐α‐octene block copolymer (OBC) triple shape memory blends with cycling performance by constructing a co‐continuous phase morphology

In this paper, a triple shape memory material was prepared by ultra‐simple melt blending from poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL), poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) and ethylene‐α‐octene block copolymer (OBC). The obtained material possessed a co‐continuous phase morphology and presented an excellent triple shape memory effect (triple‐SME). Theoretical prediction demonstrated that a special continuous phase morphology could be constructed by adjusting the proportions of the blend. Moreover, the results indicated that a close relationship existed between the phase morphology and the triple‐SME of PCL/PPC/OBC. The sample with 35 vol% PPC content contributed to the formation of a continuous phase morphology and exhibited the optimal triple‐SME. Additionally, the sample PCL/PPC/OBC (32.5/35/32.5) showed outstanding structure and performance stability during cycle loading–unloading tests, which evidenced the prominent cycling shape memory property (nearly 100% shape fixing and recovery of temporary shape). Overall, this work could provide an efficient, convenient and recyclable method to obtain high‐performance shape memory materials. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry